Serendipity
by AzaleaFaye
Summary: Serendipity: the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. This is basically my take on how Lily and James met for the first time. it starts during the summer before 6th year. My fist LJ. COMPLETE
1. Do You Believe in Magic?

Disclaimer: The characters you all recognize – J.K.'s; the characters you don't recognize – mine.

Author's Note: Hello there. I've been reading a lot of L/J stories in a long time, and I've wanted to write a story about the two, but haven't had any ideas what to write about. Well, I finally found an idea. I thought it would be interesting if I wrote a story in which the two of them meet by chance – they completely have no idea of each other until one moment when they accidentally meet. Hopefully you would all like this story. I don't know if its been done before; if it has, then I apologize. Anyhow, this isn't a love/hate story or any typical L/J. I'm hoping this is a somewhat original story. So please let me know what you thought of this story by reading and reviewing this story. Thanks a lot! By the way, this story is based on the movie, Serendipity.  

Chapter 1: Do You Believe in Destiny?

It was another summer day at Diagon Alley. Witches and wizards of all ages walked the cobblestone streets of the market, gazing at windows and talking animatedly about everyday news and gossip. Amidst the throngs of people, a 17-year-old girl with auburn hair and emerald-green eyes made her way through the busy streets, walking towards Flourish and Blotts. "Thank you," she said with a sincere smile, as an old wizard held the door open for her to step in. Breathing in the smell of books, she gazed at the many books stacked on the tall shelves of the shop, carefully reading the title of each book as she passed. She gave a heavy sigh. _How will I ever find that book? There must me millions upon millions of volumes and hardbacks in here,_ she thought to herself. Without a warning, something heavy fell on her head, making the girl lightly yell in pain. 

"I knew I should have said watch out before dropping that book down there!" said the shopkeeper with a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry about that lass! I hope I didn't do any damage?" 

"Oh no sir," replied the young lady, rubbing her head with a smile. "I'm fine. Although I am wondering if you could direct me to the shelf where I can find Belinda Bathwick's latest, _Summoning Charms and More: The Complete List of Magical Charms to Ease Everyday Life_." 

"Ah yes. A lot of customers have been asking for that," replied the shopkeeper. "Just continue on down this row of books. There should be a small table full of newly released books at the end of this here row. Hopefully, there are still some copies left."

"Thank you sir," said the young girl, immediately following the simple directions given to her by the shopkeeper. Seeing the table the kind man had mentioned, the auburn-haired girl briskly walked towards the table, a triumphant smile creeping on her lips. _The last one,_ she thought, quickly grabbing the hardbound book off the desk. She stopped, however, when she felt an opposing force tugging the book away from her. "I'm sorry, but I saw this book first," she said calmly, looking at a boy who looked around her age. He had messy, black hair and hazel eyes, hidden behind thin-framed glasses. He had a shocked but apologetic look on his face. 

"I thought_ I_ saw this book first," replied the boy with a lopsided grin. "But it looks as though you're in a much greater need of this book than I am…"

The teenage girl's eyes widened in apology, guilty for not thinking about the boy's possibly important need for the book. "Oh what was I thinking? You probably need this book for something much more important than simple reading for fun! Why don't you go ahead and take the book? I'm sure there will be other places where I can get it!"

The boy smiled. "As much as I need to brush up on my charms skills, I can't accept this book," he replied, running a hand through his already messy hair. "I believe it's against the gentleman's code to refuse the request of a beautiful stranger. So, I'll just put this book back onto this table here and slowly walk away…" He smiled at the girl, gently prying the book off her grasp and setting it on the rectangular desk.

The auburn-haired girl was about to speak in protest when an old wizard walked between her and the boy, grabbing the book off the desk. "I've been looking all over for this!" he said with a hearty chuckle. "Today must be my lucky day!" The man started to walk away, oblivious to the confused and slightly surprised looks the two teens were giving him. 

"Excuse me sir, but I believe you have my book there," said the boy, lightly tapping the man on his shoulder. 

The man turned around, the jovial twinkle in his eyes slowly subsiding. "What are you talking about, lad? It's on the table, isn't it? I can claim it as mine as much as you can."

The young man looked at the red-haired stranger in front of him, pleading with his eyes for her to help him. "Actually sir, my boyfriend and I were just deciding as to what we should…what we should…"

"Er- what we should wrap the book with: expensive wrapping paper or just…a page from the Daily Prophet," recovered the boy, smacking himself mentally for such a lame excuse. "You see sir, I was planning on giving this book to…her – my girlfriend's – mother. As a present, you know?"

The wizard looked at the two, a bewildered expression on his face. "What in the world would a full-grown witch do with a simple book of charms?" he asked, clutching the book to his sides. He waited as the two teens looked at each other for answers. 

"Er…Because…"

"Because my mother adores charms! I remember her telling me it was her favorite subject while in school," said the auburn-haired girl quickly, giving the old man a warm smile. "And my dear…_Jon_ here isn't exactly on her good side at the moment." 

The boy adjusted his glasses, giving his "girlfriend" an amused grin. _Wow…she's a quick thinker, this one._ After a few seconds of waiting, the man finally gave a loud, hearty guffaw. "Haha! I've been there boy! Tell you what – take the book and give it to you girlfriend's mother. I wouldn't want to see such a perfect couple such as you two break up over a book," he said, giving the messy-haired boy the hardbound text. "Good Luck," he added, patting the young man on his back, leaving the two teens in quiet laughter. 

"Well then, here you go –" said the young man, handing the book to the emerald-eyed beauty. "Better pay for it now before I change my mind – or before someone else gets a hold of it!" He gave the girl a cheery wave and turned around, walking away from the table.

"Thanks again!"

~~*~~~*~~

"You have a nice day, dear!" said the shopkeeper, handing the young woman her change. "And try not to stay out in the sun for too long. It might be bad for you!"

"I will," she replied, giving the man a jolly wave and a smile. Stepping out into the streets of Diagon Alley, she was greeted by the hot rays of the sun lightly kissing her pale skin. The young lady looked at her watch and started walking, intent on getting something to lightly snack on. _I have three hours until mum, dad and Petunia arrive at the Leaky Cauldron – plenty of time to eat and walk around_, she thought, entering Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop and breathing a sigh of relief (there weren't as many people in the ice cream parlor as there were in Flourish and Blotts).

The redhead slowly walked towards the counter, wondering what to order, when she suddenly turned around at the sound of her name. She smiled, her eyes looking at a mother wiping ice cream off her young daughter's cheek. "Lily! I told you to be careful," the woman said with a sigh. She turned her gaze at the teen. "May I help you?"

"Oh no, I thought you were calling for me," she replied apologetically. "I suppose Lily is a rather common name. Well then, have a nice day!" she gave the mother and daughter a sincere smile and turned around, intent on finally ordering something to eat. Her mild hunger passed, however, when she walked right into another person, falling to the floor. _You should have taken that woman's advice, Lily,_ she thought to herself, carefully gathering her things – her Flourish and Blotts purchase splattered with the cold, flavored dairy of the person she walked into. 

"Are you alright?"

The young woman looked up, surprised to hear a familiar voice asking her a question, and took the hand being offered for her to take. "Yes, I'm alright…sorry about that," apologized the girl, giving the messy-haired boy from the bookshop a sheepish smile. "Well, this is the second time I run into you this day."

"Oh yes! I knew you looked a bit familiar," said the boy, wiping some ice cream off his glasses. "I see you bought the book – smart move there."

She smiled, giving him a gracious look. "Yes, and I meant to thank you for letting me buy the book but then you left before I had the chance. So, how can I repay you then?"

"You don't really have to do anything. But if you insist, then maybe you can sit with me for awhile?" the boy asked, embarrassment absent from his voice. "I'm waiting for some friends of mine and it would really be horrible if I didn't have anyone to wait with until they arrive."

"Alright. I think that's a fair enough deal," replied the girl, smiling. "And I might as well buy you another cup of whatever it was you were eating, since the one you've just bought seems to have been spilled on the floor."

~~*~~~*~~

"So tell me, is your mother really good with charms?" asked the boy, setting his spoon onto the table. The two had been sitting at the same table for two hours, watching people walk by the ice cream shop. Neither one, throughout the whole two hours, had said their name to the other. Each was so comfortable with the other's company, that the issue of names never came up. 

"Well, my mother is good at charms, but not magical charms," the girl replied, amused at the confused expression on her newfound friend's face. "It's really hard to explain…"

"Well, if it's difficult to explain, then I won't pursue the subject," replied the young man with a grin. He looked at his watch. _Damn! I have to meet up with Sirius and Remus. I'm sure those two are patient enough to wait a few more minutes, _he thought, watching the auburn-haired girl in front of him gingerly drop her spoon onto the glass cup, making a clinking noise. She looked at him seriously.

"So…what's your favorite word?"

"My favorite word?" the boy repeated, shocked at the sudden question.

"Yes. I believe that a person's favorite word says a lot about their personality," said the emerald-eyed girl, giving the other teen an inquiring look. "So what is it then?"

"Destiny."

"Destiny?"

"Yeah, destiny: fate; fortune…"

"Do you believe in destiny?"

The messy-haired teen ran a hand through his hair. "I do, actually. It's a wonderful thought, having the insurance of that you serve some purpose in this world," replied the young man, leaning back in his chair. "What about you then? Do you believe in destiny?"

"I suppose I do," replied the pale-skinned girl, resting her elbows on the table and clasping her hands together. "I believe that every single person in the world is destined to be someone and to be _with_ someone…"

The boy looked at the person in front of him, taking in the warmhearted and passive look on her face, admiration apparent in his eyes. He was very intrigued with the girl's positive acceptance of destiny. "So then, what's your favorite word?"

"Serendipity," she replied with a smile. "The phenomenon of fortunate accidents."

"And why is that your favorite word?" 

"It's a very positive word, isn't it? Reminds me that things happen for the best – whether they be on purpose or on accident," answered the girl casually. 

"So you're saying then that serendipitous events can lead to one's destiny?"

"I suppose you can say that…"

A sly grin spread across the young man's features. "So then, my accidentally grabbing the same book as you and your accidentally running into me – does that mean we're destined to be together?" He looked at the auburn-haired girl with expectant and mischievous eyes, waiting for her response. 

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't," she replied with a giggle, stealing a glance at her watch. "I thought you had some friends to meet?" 

"What? Friends?" said the boy, bewildered, looking at his own watch. "Oh shit! I've totally forgotten about them!" exclaimed the teen, quickly standing up, running out of the shop. "It was really nice seeing you again!"

The girl stifled a small giggle, watching the boy weave through the throng of shoppers, emerald-eyes filled with amusement. "Bye..."

~~*~~~*~~

16-year old Sirius Black heaved an impatient sigh, glancing at his watch. "Remus, what time is it?"

"What? Didn't you just look at your watch?" asked his friend, sending him a bewildered look. "Did you forget how to tell time? Oh wait – you never knew how to do that before."

"Hardy har har! That's very funny, Moony," said Sirius with a roll of his eyes. "I just wanted to confirm that my watch is on time. We've been waiting here for over an hour. Where is Prongs, that bloody git?"

"Maybe he met a girl somewhere, fell in love with her, and completely forgot about us…"

"That doesn't make sense, Moony. Prongs would never ignore us over a girl."

"Of course you're right," replied Remus with a smirk. "It's your job to make us wait while you're off snogging some girl."

Sirius was about to reply on his defense, but was cut off when he saw a tall, messy-haired boy approach them. "Well it's about bloody time, James! I thought you wouldn't get here before my 90th birthday!"

"Sorry about that. I lost track of time," apologized their friend, panting. "I was off doing something."

A mischievous smile crept across Sirius' face. "So Jamesie, what _were_ you doing and _who _were you doing it with?"

"Shut up, Padfoot," exclaimed Remus, smacking the back of his friend's head. He turned to look at James. "Say Prongs, where are your glasses?"

"Bloody Hell! Stay here – I left it at the shop!"

"Yes, don't mind us…we're just your best friends and all that…" muttered Sirius, rolling his eyes at James' retreating form. "We've only been waiting for _an hour…"_

~~*~~~*~~

James ran back to Florean's shop, mumbling to himself along the way. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid," he murmured, walking through the entrance of the now crowded shop, marching to the table he was sitting in. "I can't believe I left my glasses he—" He suddenly stopped, a small grin creeping across his lips. "I told you: we're really destined for each other…"

"Hi…well…I left my book here," replied the girl James was talking to just a few minutes ago, an embarrassed look on her face. "And you seem to have left these before you left," she added, handing the boy his thin-framed glasses.

"Er…thanks," said James, slightly red. A few awkward seconds passed, each not knowing what to say to the other.

"Well then…I better go…my parents will be waiting for me…" began the girl, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, turning to leave. She stopped, however, when a warm hand gently took a hold of her arm.

"You're leaving already?" asked the boy, disappointed. "I honestly think it's a clear indication that something will happen between us, since we've been running into each other a lot this day…"

"I'm sorry…but I really must go," replied the girl apologetically, starting to walk away.

"Can't you at least tell me your name?"

The young woman turned around slowly, a sincere smile on her face. "If it is true, what you're saying – that we're destined to be together – then I assure you, it isn't necessary for you to know my name. Besides, you haven't told me your name either…"

"I'm James," he said with a lopsided grin, waiting for her to speak. "Well, aren't you going to say something?"

"My name is…you'd have to find that out for yourself," replied the girl. "I'll give you a hint: it's four letters long…well then…I'll see you around, James." She gently laid her hand on his shoulder, giving the boy a small kiss on the cheek and walking away. _My name's Lily…_

*~~**~~~**~~*

So…how was it? I know…it's a pretty bad first chapter. I hope it wasn't that bad or anything like that…sorry if I kept referring to lily as girl or anything similar to that word (and the same with James). I hope I didn't confuse anyone by doing that. What else… oh yeah: if you felt that some of them were out of character, I deeply apologize for that. I'm not an L/J writer – this is my first story of that coupling. Please review this story. Once I get a few reviews, then I'll continue this story. If not, then I'll not write the second chapter and just continue with my R/H story. Well, thank you for taking the time and reading this chapter…and if you have some time, read my other stories too…have a nice day!

~~:Azaleafaye:~~ 


	2. A Degree of Separation

Disclaimer: same as before – what you notice does not belong to me and what you don't notice, does.

Author's Note: O_O whoa! First off, I would like to thank all of you who read and reviewed the first chapter for my premiere in writing L/J stories…I can't believe people actually liked that. I honestly thought no one would read this story. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart! You guys rock! Hopefully the second chapter of this story is as good as the first one…be warned though, I tend not to jump into the romance part immediately. If any of you have read my R/H story, curiosity, then you would know that. So please don't get mad at me or something…But anyhow, here's the second chapter. So, please read and review this chapter as well and let me know what you thought about it…enjoy!

Chapter Two: A Degree of Separation

James Potter looked at his watch, running a hand through his unruly hair. It was the beginning of another school year – September 1st – and as always, James stood next to his parents and sister, scanning the sea of people for the three familiar faces of his friends. After a few seconds of searching, the boy heard a familiar voice yelling amidst the throng of people. Turning towards the source of the commotion, James smirked as he saw Sirius hanging halfway out of a window (and being held in place by Remus and Peter Pettigrew), wiping fictitious tears off his cheek as he kissed his mother and sister goodbye. "I've spotted them mum," he said, gently tapping his mother's shoulder. Giving his mother a quick hug and his father a firm handshake, James turned to his sister with a smile. "Ready to go?" he asked his little sister, who was getting a hug from their parents.

"Have a nice term, you two," said their mother, giving her children a wave goodbye. "And James, do look after your sister."

James nodded in compliance and gave his parents one last look goodbye, turning to walk into the train, his sister a few steps behind her.

~~*~~~*~~

James entered the compartment occupied by him and his friends, rolling his eyes at Sirius, who was still hanging halfway down the window, still saying his goodbyes.

"Mother! I don't want to leave you, but I must! I shall miss you for the whole time that I will be gone…owl me everyday, mum…and you too Emily…"

"What the hell is he doing?"

Remus turned to face James, his hand holding on to the back of Sirius' shirt. "I don't know what this bloody git is doing, but I think he's exhausting his goodbyes…at the rate he's going, his mother and sister are not going to want him back after this term…"

Peter chuckled. "Come on Padfoot…get back in here," he said as the train began to move. "Wouldn't want you to hit a tree or something…"

Sirius, in mock anger, plopped himself onto the seat, grinning madly. "Ahh…another year…so…how's everybody doing today?"

"Great," answered Peter, rubbing his hand (he had been holding on to Sirius as well).

"How was you summer, Wormtail?" asked Remus, taking a seat across from Sirius. "You went to Australia, right?"

"Yeah, went there to visit an aunt or some relative. I never knew we had relatives in Australia…weird is—"

"Wait…Australia?" said Sirius, cutting his friend off mid sentence. "Is it true that the toilet flushes in the other direction there?"

"Er…I didn't pay much attention to the toilet when I flushed it, Sirius…" answered the boy timidly. 

"Well do me a favor, Wormtail: next time you visit your auntie in Australia, flush the toilet –without anything in it – and take a picture. Alright?"

Remus chuckled good-naturedly, as Peter shot Sirius a bewildered look. "Um…sure Padfoot…I'll do that…"

Peter continued talking about his visit to Australia, not noticing that only Remus and Sirius were giving him any attention. The fourth marauder was staring out the window, deep in thought. After minutes of silence from the boy, Remus took notice. "James, are you paying attention at all to what Peter's saying?"

James, shaken out of his reverie, looked at his friends with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that…I was just thinking about…someone…"

"Huh?" Peter wondered aloud, looking at the other two marauders in wonder. 

"Oh, our dear Jamesie here met a girl during the summer and he's been thinking about her ever since," explained Sirius with a smile. 

"Oh really?" asked Peter, raising an eyebrow in interest. "What does she look like?"

An admiring expression spread across James' face. "She has beautiful auburn hair that's midway her back, gorgeous green eyes, alluringly pale skin…and extremely intelligent. She's like an angel."

Sirius stared at his friend in a mixture of disbelief and amusement. He was amused that two hours with this girl had made his best friend a love struck teen. 

"So what's her name?  Didn't she tell you?" asked Peter, a bit intrigued.

"That's the problem: she never told me her name…all I know is that her name has four letters in it," replied James, a bit melancholy. "That's a great clue, isn't it? I mean, there's probably a hundred female names with only four letters in it!" James sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Remus, noticing James' rather hopeless expression, sighed. "Listen James, I'm you're friend and I want you to be happy. But you have got to move on. I have a feeling you're never going to see this girl again.  There are other fish in the sea…"

James remained quiet, choosing not to answer to his friend's comment. Intent on cheering his friend up, Sirius grinned a broad smile, brandishing a two-foot long parchment with two long columns of writing. He handed the parchment to the somewhat distraught James. "I know how much finding this girl means to you, Prongs, so I took the liberty of writing down every single four-letter female name I have ever heard," said Sirius, puffing his chest out slightly, proud of his accomplishment. "Aren't I the greatest best friend ever?"

"We're his best friends too," said Peter meekly, looking in at the parchment.

"Er…Padfoot? Some of these names aren't female names," began Remus, scanning the last few names on the parchment. "I mean, come on: Will? John? Alex?"

Sirius shrugged. "Hey you never know. Her parents probably wanted her to be unique and decided to give her a boy's name. Either that or she could really be a he…"

James stared at his friend, grateful for taking the time to write such an extensive list but at the same time amused at his friend's theory. Peter simply scratched his head in confusion while Remus rolled his eyes good-naturedly. The compartment door suddenly opened, revealing an eleven-year-old girl with shoulder-length black hair tied in pigtails. "Hello James."

"Hello Agatha. Did you find a compartment all right?"

"Yes I did, James. And _please_ call me Aggie," said the little girl, smiling at her brother and his friends. "So, what have you four been up to?"

"Nothing much really…just sitting here and talking," answered Remus. "So, are you excited about your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Oh definitely! James has told me SO many things about the castle. I can't wait to see it!" began the girl, her eyes filled with excitement. "I'm really hoping I'd become a Ravenclaw. They're such nice people."

Sirius grabbed his chest, pretending to be hurt by her comment. "But what about us? And your brother? Wouldn't you want to be come a Gryiffindor?"

"Well…"

James smiled at his sister. "I'm alright with Aggie becoming a Ravenclaw. After all, she's beautiful, charming, and intelligent. She'd be perfect for that house."

"So who were these Ravenclaws you've met?" asked Remus out of curiosity. 

 "Diana Watson. Do you know her James? She's a prefect like you."

Sirius, Remus and Peter burst out laughing, James giving his friends an annoyed look. "James here has never gone to a single prefect meeting. It's really surprising that he's still a prefect."

"What the hell are you on about, Padfoot? You're a prefect too and you've never been to a single meeting either," retorted James, shutting Sirius up. A short silence followed, Remus and Peter stifling laughs, and Agatha smiling fondly. "Well then, I better go," she said, breaking the silence. "I told Diana I'd only be gone for awhile. See you later then." She waved goodbye at the boys, closing the compartment door gently, and walked backed to the compartment she shared with some Ravenclaw girls. As she neared the said compartment, a slender girl with blonde hair and blue eyes approached the first year, a warm smile across her face. "So did you see your brother? Well then, come with me. I'd like you to meet someone," said the girl, gently taking Agatha's arm. 

Upon entering the compartment, Agatha noticed that another girl she had never met before was in their little section. She was reaching for something in her luggage, her red, shoulder-length hair covering her face. When the girl finally looked up, she had a book in her hand and a satisfied look on her face. "Oh hello Diana," she greeted with a smile. "And who's this?"

"Agatha, this is Lily Evans – another Ravenclaw prefect. Lily, this is Agatha; call her Aggie though."

The two girls shook hands, giving each other cordial smiles. Diana spoke again. "Lily here is the most intelligent witch in our year." 

"And quite possibly one of the prettiest as well," said a voice from behind the girls. A girl with brown, curly hair entered the compartment. "Bella!" said Lily, giving her friend a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm great Lily. I see you've met Aggie here. She's such a sweet girl, isn't she?" she said, turning to face the girl. "Let's hope you'll become a Ravenclaw." She turned to face Lily, touching her straight, red hair. "So Lils, why did you cut your hair? It was so beautiful when it reached the middle of your back."

Lily shrugged. "I don't really know…I suppose I just wanted some form of change."

"Excuse me dears, but do any of you want anything from the carts?"

The four girls turned around to face the witch, a toothy grin across her face. Diana and Arabella nodded, taking out small pouches filled with coins. Lily followed suit, handing some knuts and sickles to her friends. When Agatha did the same, the three older girls told her to keep her money. "Umm…thank you," she said, taking a seat as Diana and Arabella browsed through the food on the witch's cart. Lily sat across from the first year and opened her book, starting to read. 

"What are you reading?"

Lily looked up, showing the girl the front cover of the book: _Summoning Charms and More: The Complete List of Magical Charms to Ease Everyday Life_. Agatha gasped. "My brother has been looking all over for that book! He went to Flourish and Blotts to get it, but he said they've ran out of copies!"

Lily smiled, recalling the incident that happened while shopping for the book. _James…_ Snapping out of her short reverie, the redhead gave the first year a small smile. "Yes, it's a rather popular book. I suppose it's because magical charms are essential in the wizarding world," she said as Diana and Arabella entered the compartment, arms full of food. They handed Agatha and Lily a Pumpkin pasty each. "Tell you what: once I've finished reading this book, I'll give it to you so you can give it to your brother. I'm sure he'd really appreciate it!"

Wide-eyed, Aggie smiled at Lily in thanks, unable to speak because of the pastry in her mouth.

~~*~~~*~~

The Hogwarts Express arrived at its destination early in the night. Aggie waved at her Ravenclaw friends, bidding them goodbye as she joined the other first years for the boat ride across the lake. She caught a glimpse of her brother and smiled. _I'll see you in the castle_, she mouthed silently. James nodded and gave her a thumbs up. 

Inside the Great Hall, students eagerly chatted with one another, catching up after three months of not seeing each other. When the first years finally entered the hall, the older students hushed into silence and listened to the sorting hat sing its song and proceed with calling out houses for each student. James groaned, lightly massaging his hungry stomach as Melinda Myers was proclaimed a Gryffindor. After three students, Professor McGonnogal called out his sister's name, prompting James to sit up, alert. He watched as his sister placed the battered hat on her head, smirking when she clapped in joy as she was hailed a Ravenclaw, practically skipping towards her house table. She was greeted by the table with a huge smile from her fellow housemates, the grey lady beaming at her with pride. He watched as his sister hugged three girls about his age: one with blonde hair, another with brown hair, and lastly, a girl with shoulder-length auburn hair. He gasped. _Everywhere I look, I am constantly reminded of her…_he thought, wrenching his eyes off his sister and the redhead, whose face he cannot see. He was snapped out of his trance when Sirius started to bang his knife and fork on the table.

Once the sorting had ended, Dumbledore stood from his seat, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes as he glanced at Sirius, still banging on the table. "Welcome to another year. Before we begin the feast, I would like to remind the prefects for each house that there will be an early meeting tomorrow at 7 AM. Please be prompt."

Sirius groaned. "It's not as if we'll be going," he muttered to James, a bit peeved that Dumbledore didn't start the feast as he hoped.

"Now then," continued the wizard. "Enjoy!"

A clatter of knives and forks filled the hall as each student happily ate the feast prepared for them. Sirius, who immediately attacked the whole chicken that appeared in front of him, gulped down his food as though without chewing. Remus looked at him in shock. "I honestly can't believe that you're a prefect…James, I understand…but _you…"_

~~**~~~**~~

Eep! So…how was it? Again, please let me know through your reviews how this chapter was. I hope you don't mind that I'm slowly progressing to the romance part. And also, I hope you all got the meaning of the title, as it is somewhat significant to what's going to happen. If not I'll explain on the next chapter (on the author's note). I also would like to apologize if this chapter is shorter than the first one. By the way, I'm not going to make this story exactly like the movie. I'll take some aspects of the movie and incorporate it into this story, but I won't be a complete copycat or anything like that. well again, thank you for taking the time and reading this little story of mine. Don't forget to review. I'll post the next chapter sometime next week, or earlier if I get Atleast 10 reviews for this chapter. Thanks again and god bless you all!

~~:AzaleaFaye:~~


	3. Dreams and Distractions

Disclaimer: Still the same…those you recognize aren't mine. Those you don't are mine…

Author's Note: O_O whoa again! I honestly cannot believe the positive reception this story is getting! I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Anyways, there were a few comments on the reviews I would like to address:

   1) The issue of Lily being a Gryffindor came up. I wasn't really sure if she is a Gryffindor, so decided to make her a Ravenclaw instead. Besides, 

       for the purposes of this story, it would be best if she's not in the same house as James. Otherwise, the story wouldn't work at all…               

   2) Sirius as a prefect: I know, it sounds wrong to some people, but I think deep down, he's an intelligent and responsible person…if he isn't 

       well…miracles happen, right?                                                                                                                                                                 

   3) I will be starting a mailing list for those of you who want me to inform you of any updates or any new story ideas. I tried copying down the 

       email addresses of those who reviewed, but it was a tad bit tedious. So please, if you wish to be included in the mailing list, email me at: 

       azaleafaye@yahoo.com. 

Alright. Here's chapter 3 of Serendipity. I apologize deeply for the almost one week lag with the update. I had a midterm on Monday and actually had two more midterms on Thursday. But since today is Saturday, I decided it appropriate for me to finally update this story. Again, I apologize. I do hope you would all like this chapter. If not please let me know how I can improve future chapters. If you do like it, then also let me know why you liked it, so I would know what to do for future chapters. And of course, the only way for me to know whether you did or did not like this chapter is through your reviews. So please, after reading this, do not forget to review. Thank you and Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Dreams and Distractions

James walked the empty halls of Hogwarts Castle, his gaze switching from right to left, giving quick glances at the portraits lining the quiet halls, its occupants following his every step. The echoing of shoes to cold granite permeated the air, as though choking him: a reminder that he is alone. Continuing his walk to the unknown, James took careful steps, having no idea where to go. Suddenly, a cold air came from nowhere, blowing out the fires on the torches hanging on the wall, throwing the boy into pitch-black darkness. His heart gave a jolt. _Where am I supposed to go_, he thought, a pinch of anxiety surfacing within the Gryffindor. 

James… 

The boy looked up, hearing a familiar feminine voice call his name. Out of nowhere, a small crevice of light opened at the end of the dark hall, intoxicating the boy with its inviting glow, its hypnotizing brilliance slowly making him move.

James… 

_I'm coming,_ he thought as he reached the light, entering a room with large windows, the heavy rays of light kissing his face. James raised his hands, shielding his hazel eyes from the light, waiting for his vision to adjust. When it finally did, the boy looked at his surroundings, taking in the smell of books: the library.

James… 

Turning his gaze towards the direction where his voice seemed to have come from, James gasped. The slender figure of a young woman was silhouetted against the large windows, the angelic glow of the light behind her disabling the boy from seeing her face. The brilliant radiance slowly dimmed to a perfect glow, revealing the mystery girl's features: long, auburn hair, emerald-green eyes, and an angelic smile James could only associate with one person. _It's her…_

Slowly, the girl smiled at James, lightly gliding towards the boy, floating like an angel. She smiled at him again, reaching her hand up to gently touch his cheeks. "You've found me, James," she gently said, her voice echoing his name. Resting her hands on both of the boy's shoulders, the girl with auburn hair slowly pulled James' face closer to hers, a smile playing at her lips. "James…"

James… 

_James…_

_Jam_es…

James…James! JAMES! JAMES!

_My angel_, he thought, wrenching his eyes open, staring blurrily at a somewhat familiar face. After a second of adjusting, James shoved the person off the bed. "Sirius, what the hell?!" exclaimed the prefect, sitting up with a groan. "What the hell are you doing up so early? And what in the heck do you think you're doing shaking me awake?"

Sirius gave his best friend a huge grin, getting off the floor and brushing imaginary dust off his robes. "It's a beautiful morning, Prongs!" he said, walking towards the windows and pulling the curtains open: it was still dark out. "Now get up and celebrate the day with me," he added, walking towards Remus' bed and shaking the boy awake. He took the pillow sitting behind Remus' head and chucked it at a snoring Peter. "WAKE UP! WORMTAIL!" 

"Shut the bloody hell up, Padfoot," groaned Remus, rubbing his temples, still lying on his bed. James watched his best friend shake Peter awake, an annoyed but amused smile spreading across his face. "Sirius, will you calm the hell down and tell me why in the world you've decided to wake up at an ungodly hour?" asked James, glancing at his watch – it was only 5:30 AM. 

Sirius bounced towards his friend, draping a friendly arm around him. "Well Prongs, we officially start the school year today – exciting isn't it?" answered Sirius, giving his friend an amicable shove. "Besides, we have a prefect's meeting to attend at seven. You have an hour and a half to get ready for it, Prongs, so I suggest you use it!"

The other three boys stared at Sirius, who had stood up and was walking towards the door. "I'll wait for you in the common room, James," he added, leaving the dormitory.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" asked Remus, catching the pillow Peter groggily threw back to him. 

James sighed, getting out of bed. "Well you know Sirius…he was dropped a number of times when he was a child…"

~~*~~~*~~

James dragged his feet along the hall, his mind still preoccupied with the dream he had before his best friend rudely shook him awake. He looked up, rolling his eyes as his so-called best friend walked briskly a few feet away from him. "Damn it, Padfoot! Could you atleast slow down and wait for me? It's not as though you know where the prefects meet."

Sirius stopped and turned around, following his friend's advice. "What are you on about? Of course I know where prefects meet! What kind of prefect would I be if I didn't know?" he answered, walking alongside James past the Great Hall. Sirius ran a hand through his already messy hair, his eyes darting from right and left, trying to find an open door with people inside. James smirked. "You lost, Padfoot?"

Sirius scratched his head and looked around. Spotting an attractive blonde walking towards them, Sirius adjusted his robes. "Excuse me miss…"

The girl stopped, looking at Sirius, her blue eyes still showing signs of sleep but nevertheless holding some cheer. "Yes?"

"Do you happen to know where the prefects hold their meetings?"

The girl shot Sirius a bewildered look. _Hmm…he must be new_, she thought with a shrug. "Actually, I was just about to go to that meeting right now. Why don't you follow me then?"

"A damn beautiful day, isn't it James?" said Sirius enthusiastically. He smiled sheepishly when the girl looked at him, apparently peeved by his mild swearing in the morning. "Er—I meant, isn't this day swell?"

The girl shook her head in amusement, continuing her walk to the meeting, the two boys following her, all walking in silence. Finally reaching the meeting place, the three students entered the room, the blonde girl waving at the other prefects and taking a seat next to a Hufflepuff prefect with brown hair. Sirius took the empty seat next to the blonde girl, James plopping down next to his friend. Seconds after their entrance, Dumbledore appeared in the doorway, a characteristic twinkle in his eyes. "Good morning," he said, striding towards the empty seat at the end of the long, rectangular table, looking around at the mixture of sleepy and enthusiastic response from each student. "Miss Watson, where's Miss Evans?"

The blonde girl sitting next to Sirius bit her bottom lip. "I told her not to come, headmaster…well actually, I decided not to wake her. She was the last person to go to bed last night, and I thought she needed the extra sleep."

"Very well," nodded Dumbledore in understanding. He then shifted his gaze at the old yet familiar faces of Sirius and James. "Why Mr. Black and Mr. Potter – to what do we owe this rare occurrence of your being here?"

Sirius gave Dumbledore a beaming smile, James simply flashing the headmaster a polite grin. The meeting began, all but the two Gryffindor prefects paying great attention to whoever had the floor. After thirty minutes of people nodding and talking, Dumbledore finally decided to end the meeting. 

"Thank you, Sirius," muttered James as he and his best friend walked out of the door. 

"Thanks for what?"

"Thank you for reminding me why I never went to a single prefect's meeting!" exclaimed James, a bit peeved that he spent thirty minutes in a pointless about god knows what. "I didn't even know what the hell we were talking about!" 

"Don't worry about it. No one ever has anything to say during those meetings," said the blonde girl, striding next to the two boys. "They're really just interesting when Lily's there."

"Lily?"

"Yeah, Lily Evans – don't you know her?" asked the girl in reply, looking at Sirius with inquiring eyes. The boy shook his head, "No, I actually don't."

"Oh well, I guess when you attend the next prefect meeting, you'll get to meet her," said the blonde girl with a smile, entering the Great Hall and turning to walk to her tables.

"Oh hell no! Sirius-" began James, taking a hold of his friend's arm. "We are _never _going to another prefect meeting this year. If you drag me to another one of those boring prefect get-togethers, I am going to kick your ass!"

The girl giggled. "It wouldn't matter: you won't miss anything important, I'm sure. I'll see you two around then," said the girl, bidding the two boys goodbye.

"She's a nice girl, isn't she?" said Sirius, giving the girl one last glance. "What's her name again?"

"I don't know, Padfoot. Can we just go and get some food please?" 

"Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a bunch," replied Sirius, raising his hands in mock defense. "By the way, did that list of names include Lily in it?"

James thought hard. "No, I don't think so…I'll check later."

"Yeah, go do that…Lily seems like a redhead name anyway…"

~~*~~~*~~

"She's a nice girl, isn't she? What's her name again?"

Diana smiled inwardly, overhearing the boy named Sirius call her nice. She smacked herself mentally, remembering that she never had the chance to introduce herself to the two boys. _Oh well, I'll see them on the next prefect meeting, hopefully_, she thought, the distance between her and the two Gryffindors increasing. To be honest, she was a bit grateful for finally losing the two arguing boys. However, she was a bit amused with the one named Sirius – everything that came out of his mouth had some humor in it, and Diana saw that as charming. 

The girl continued her trek to the Ravenclaw house table, gently giving a second year student a friendly wave walking the opposite direction. Her attention was caught, however, by her two friends: Lily Evans and Arabella Figg. The auburn-haired Lily had a look of irritation on her delicate face and Arabella was busy eating some porridge, trying to talk to Lily. Diana joined them.

"Hello you two!" greeted the blonde, giving her friends a sweet smile. "Lily, you're not mad at me for not waking you up, are you?"

Lily sighed. "No I'm not. I'm sure you had your reasons," replied the emerald-eyed girl. "Although I am quite disappointed that I've missed my very first meeting since becoming a prefect last year…"

"Cheer up, Lily!" exclaimed Arabella, taking a small swig from her goblet. "There's a first time for everything, and it's about time you got some chance to lie in!"

"Exactly! Besides, you didn't really miss much. The meeting was incredibly boring without you making suggestions and whatnot," added Diana, pouring some milk onto her goblet. "Anyway, Dumbledore will be making an announcement about the stuff we talked about right before the end of breakfast."

"Alright…thanks you two," said Lily, taking a piece of toast and spreading liberal amounts of strawberry jam onto the bread. The three friends ate in silence, occasionally asking one or the other to pass the butter or the jam. After fifteen minutes, the attention of the hall was called upon by the headmaster, who was now standing at the instructors' table, eyes a twinkle. 

"If I may have your attention please," he said loudly, slightly clearing his throat. "Earlier this morning, the prefects and I – along with your Headboy and Headgirl – had a meeting regarding a little moral booster. And after minutes of discussing with the staff, I am please to announce that two weeks from Saturday, we shall hold an Autumn Ball here in the Great Hall." Dumbledore beamed at the positive response from his students – girls were suddenly whispering excitedly to each other. Clearing his throat, the Headmaster continued. "Partners are optional and dress robes may be worn by those students who wish to. This ball will be a somewhat relaxed ball, allowing students to just be themselves and to let loose, therefore, it is allowed for students to wear their simple school robes. Students from first through seventh year are invited, although attendance is not mandatory." Dumbledore chuckled, noticing that most of his students were eager to talk to their friends about the ball. "If any of you have further questions regarding the ball, you may ask your prefects or the head of your house. That is all."

Excited whispers filled the Great Halls as students – mostly girls – planned for the upcoming ball. 

"A ball? That was the agenda for today's meeting?" asked Lily, standing up, getting ready to walk to her first class – History of Magic. Following suit, Diana and Arabella stood up, brushing off any crumbs on their robes and stepping out of their chairs. "Well then, shall we go?"

Before either Diana or Lily had the chance to reply, the three girls' attention was suddenly caught by the laughter permeating the hall. Lily looked at the source of the laughter, a look of bewilderment in her face. Severus Snape had entered the common room, wearing sparkling pink robes, his clothes a bright color of green and orange. The girls standing next to Lily gave loud laughs, covering their mouths in amusement. 

The auburn-haired girl watched in interest as Severus approached the Gryffindor house table, stopping in front of four boys – three of which were laughing in delight, banging their hands on the table and the fourth one (who was face was slightly blocked by the Slytherin) was shaking his head in amused disapproval, his hand covering half his face. Lily watched as Severus pointed his finger at a boy named Sirius, yelling accusingly at the boy, who had his hands raised in defense. Glancing at her watch, Lily finally decided to leave when Severus once again yelled accusingly at not only the boy named Sirius, but also his friends. 

"Wait Lils, don't you want to stay for this?" asked Diana, quickly taking a glance at her friend then returning her attention to the one-sided shouting match. 

"I really don't want to stay for Severus' pointless finger-pointing, Diana," replied Lily. "I'll just save us some seats – wouldn't want to miss two important meetings in one day, right?"

"But professor Binns' class is not that important, Lils!" said Arabella, pleading for her friend to stay. 

Lily smiled at the two, waving her hand in the air, dismissing her friend's comment. "I'll see you two in class," she said, making her way out of the Great Hall. Before fully leaving the large room, however, Lily took one last look at the verbal battle between Severus and the four boys, noticing that the Slytherin had a triumphant grin on his face. Professor McGonnogal had stepped in, three of the four boys standing in front of her, receiving a lecture. 

Intent on getting to class and saving some seats, Lily slowly turned away from the scene. She stopped, however, when she caught a quick glance of a somewhat familiar face with messy hair. _Oh my God_, she thought, quickly turning her attention back to the scene. Her face fell into disappointment, however, when she saw that the boy was already walking away: McGonnogal was leading him and his friends to the opposite side of the Great Hall, their backs turned towards the auburn-haired Lily. _No Lily, you're just seeing things…_

~~*~~~*~~

The rest of the Ravenclaw sixth years entered professor Binns' classroom, all talking about one of two things: the upcoming ball or the one-sided verbal war during breakfast. Smiling at her friends, Lily took her bag and her book off the two seats she save for her friends. They didn't had the chance to chat, however, because Professor Binns emerged from the chalkboard, giving his students a brief welcome back and immediately launching on a talk about the Goblin and Troll Acts of 1467. 

One by one, the Ravenclaw sixth years fell into a stupor, bored out of their wits. And after thirty minutes, nearly everyone was asleep or had his or her eyes closed. Lily, who had already read about the lecture in advance, decided to follow suit, staring blankly at the empty parchment in front of her. Taking one of her quills from her bag, Lily dipped the tip onto ink and began to doodle on the parchment. Unconsciously, she drew a picture of a boy with messy hair wearing thin-framed glasses. Lily looked at her drawing, a small smile playing at her lips. _James_, she thought, writing his name on the parchment. Lily looked around the room at her fellow Ravenclaw students, smiling at their sleeping states. Looking down at the floor and thinking of how boring the lecture was, the auburn-haired girl suddenly caught sight of a small book lying on the floor next to an open bag: _The Slaying of the Vampire Princess Melinda by Annika Richter._ Sighing like the lovesick teen she is, Lily set her quill down, resting her elbows onto the desk and her chin on her hands.

_"So, you like to read, do you?"_

_Lily looked at the boy sitting across from her, tilting her head to the side. "Yes, I actually do. How can you tell?"_

_The boy pushed his glass back. "Well, I actually saw your face light up when you saw that book," he said pointing at the bag on the floor. "Besides, you said you only wanted to read the book for fun. I don't think anyone would read a three hundred page book on charms just for fun."_

_ Lily giggled. "It's that obvious, eh? What about you? Why did you need this book anyway?"_

_"To be honest, I'm not much of a charms person – I could never get them! I thought by reading that book, I might get some pointers or something…"_

_"Well, you get a lot out of reading, I suppose. Do you like to read?"_

_"As long as it's not about History of Magic, sure: I love to read."_

_Lily smiled. "What's your favorite book?" _

_"My favorite book…" repeated the boy, searching for the title. "I think it would have to be _The Slaying of the Vampire Princess Melinda, by Annika Richter._"_

_"Sounds interesting. What's it about?"_

_"It's about this vampire princess who falls in love with a wizard, not knowing that he's a vampire slayer," began James, his face a mask of seriousness. "In the end, he betrays her trust and kills her – only to realize that he's killed the one person he loved the most. It's a bit complicated, but it's an extremely good read."_

_Lily stared at the boy in amazement. "Honestly, you don't look like the type of person who would read a romance novel."_

_"It's not purely romance," exclaimed the boy, holding a hand up in defense. "There's a lot of action in it – after all, he does battle evil and all that. You should read it sometime."_

_"I'll take your word for it," replied Lily, taking a liberal amount of ice cream from her glass._

"Do you think she's died or something?" Arabella asked Diana, waving a hand in front of her auburn-haired friend. 

Diana gave her friend an incredulous look, turning her attention to the girl who had a dreamy expression her face. "Hello? Anyone home?" said Diana, waving a hand on her face. "Lily, time to end your daydreaming – Professor Binns saw your spaced-out expression."

Lily snapped back to reality, a red shade running through her cheeks. "He did? Damn…what about you two? You were practically snoring!"

"He's already yelled at us," answered Diana. "Why do you think we're awake?"

"Don't worry about it, he's probably forgotten already," said Arabella, resting her head on her arms once again. "Please wake me up once he's done talking."

Lily smiled at her friend, resting her chin once again on her hand and trying to hold on to Professor Binns' words. Lily stifled a yawn, hearing something gently slip onto her desk. Looking down, she saw a small piece of parchment folded in half with her names scribbled onto the front. Lily opened the parchment and read:

_Lily,_

_Hello there. I was just wondering about something…I'm sure by now you know that there's an upcoming ball in two weeks…and I was wondering if…if you'd like to come to the ball with me? I know this isn't a very appropriate way of asking a girl, but it would make me so happy if you could say yes…so, what will it be?_

_Euan Oldham_

Lily turned around, giving Euan a smile, who returned it with a small wave, flashing her a grin. _Come on, Lily. He's pretty good looking, and he's quidditch captain too…you have to move on…besides, remember: destiny and serendipity…_

Taking her quill and dipping it into ink, Lily slowly wrote three letters on the parchment: yes

~~**~~~**~~ 

So…what did you guys think? It was a bit long, and I apologize if you guys didn't like that. I decided this chapter should focus more on Lily, seeing as the previous chapter had a lot of James in it. Also, I apologize if I added another original character. I think that new character will be the last character I'll add – although I might add another one. Hopefully you guys are alright with my adding some new characters in it…hmm…what else? I hope none of you were confused about the whole dream sequences (James' was in the beginning and Lily's was the flashback in class), because I kinda just inserted those in there…sorry about that! Well, I think that's all I have to say for this…Again, please don't forget to review this chapter. Let me know how much it sucked! Haha..god bless you all and thank you again for reading this small little story of mine!

~~:AzaleaFaye:~~ __


	4. Dreams, Distractions, and Realizations

Disclaimer: Same as before – characters you recognize are not mine. They belong to the talented Ms. J.K.

Author's Note: I again would like to thank all of those who reviewed the third chapter. I apologize if I keep dragging this on, but don't worry: the end is near! Yay, right? I just hope you all wouldn't get mad at me if I keep writing all these close but no cigar type chapters. I think it adds to the suspense, right? What else…some chapters may have a ton of stuff going on, and some readers might get confused, so I apologize in advance. Oh yeah, again, if you're interested in the mailing list, just let me know! I've already got some people in it, so thanks to those who emailed me about that! Anyway, here's the fourth chapter. Read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter Four: Dreams, Distractions, and Realizations

James Potter and his three friends sat idly in the common room, wasting away their first Friday evening of the school year. It had been three days since the incident in the Great Hall, in which Severus Snape accused the four friends of charming his robes into changing color from black to a sparkly pink. Unfortunately for the friends, his accusations were correct: Sirius had sneaked into the 6th year Slytherin dormitory very early in the morning and charmed the boy's robes. 

James watched the fire lazily, nodding at some people bidding him a good night. He glanced at his three friends, each of which were occupied with something: Remus and Sirius were now playing a game of chess while Peter was slowly falling asleep, his head drooping onto the couch's armrest. _How in the world does he keep up with us?_ Thought James, shaking his head in disapproval at the boy, who by now had started to snore quietly. James turned his attention to his other two best friends, who seemed to have finished their game in two minutes, Sirius protesting his quick defeat. 

"Padfoot, be a man! Just admit that Moony here is a much better chess player than you are," said James with a smirk, amused at his best friend's actions. 

Sirius sighed. "Fine – you are the best chess play there is, Mr. Moony," he said, bowing in defeat. "But your skills in mischief is not up to par with your truly."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Speaking of skills in mischief, you never did get the chance to tell us how you managed to sneak into the Slytherin dormitories without us."

"Well Moony, it's really quite simple: I went to the kitchens and asked our dear friends for help," answered Sirius, beaming proudly at his friends. "The mark of a good house elf is never getting seen, and the same goes for a prankster."

James gave his friend an annoyed look. "You could have woken me up and used my invisibility cloak – then I could have helped you!"

Sirius laughed. "Prongs, my dear friend, I would have taken you and Moony with me, but I doubt the two of you would have appreciated my waking you up at four in the morning! Besides James, you're horrible at charms!"

Remus shot his friend a dubious look. "And you're better?"

"Good enough to turn Snape's robe pink. James here can't even perfect a simple cheering charm!"

"You're full of it, Padfoot," scoffed James, getting up from his seat. "I'm going to bed."

Sirius and Remus watched as their friend disappeared from view. "Yeah James, you should get some rest," yelled Sirius after his friend, getting up from his seat and walking towards the portrait hole, beckoning for Remus to follow suit. "We have a Hogsmeade trip tomorrow – you wouldn't want to be late for your date."

Remus, who was right behind Sirius, smirked, hearing James' footsteps stop. "What date?"

"Oh you didn't know?" called Remus, stepping out of the portrait hole. "You're going to the ball with Kathleen Henderson (a Hufflepuff 6th year) and you'll be taking her robes shopping tomorrow." Quickly, Remus and Sirius stepped out of the room, snickering the whole time.

James, finally processing the information in his brain, ran back down to the common room, intent on screaming at his friends. Unfortunately for the boy, the common room was empty (save for a snoring and drooling Peter), prompting James to continue his trek back to his dorm room. _I am going to kick their sorry asses…_

~~*~~~*~~

Remus and Sirius walked along the trail leading to Hogsmeade, laughing jovially at a joke Sirius said. _Yeah, it's alright for them to laugh and all,_ thought James bitterly, trudging a few feet behind his friends._ They don't have to meet some random girl…stupid gits…_

Noticing the absence of his best friend by his side, Sirius slowed down until he was striding alongside James. He amicably draped his arm around the boy, who was still muttering on about stupid gits. "Cheer up, buddy! Kathleen is the perfect distraction to your constant thinking about our mystery girl," said Sirius, giving his friend a somewhat supportive grin.

James gave his friend an annoyed look. "No she won't! I'm sure this Kathleen will do or say something that will revert my thoughts back to that mystery girl!" said James exasperatedly. "Practically everything I see reminds me of her!"

Remus, who by now was walking alongside the other two, shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Really Prongs, you need to get over this girl. Move on, buddy!" mused Remus, trying to cheer his friend up. Finally reaching the town and walking amongst the people in the street, Remus pointed at a girl sitting in front of Madame Rialto's Robes. "Kathleen is the perfect first step in forgetting about this mystery girl of yours, James." 

As the boys get closer to the girl sitting in front of the shop, a look of mild approval spread on James' face. _Well, gotta hand it to those two – she does seem pretty_, he thought, eyeing the girl's long, curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. _Let's just hope her conversation skills are bearable._ (i.e. that she isn't some ditz)

James approached the girl slowly, shooting his friends a deadly glare when they suddenly gave him a strong push towards the girl, sticking their thumbs up in encouragement. Stumbling to the dusty ground, James quickly stood up, brushing off any dust settling on his robes, and extended his hand to greet the girl. "Hello there. Kathleen I presume?"

With a great yelp from James, the girl pulled the boy into a great, crushing hug. "OH MY GOD! I can't believe I'll be going to the ball with _James Potter!"_ squealed the girl, unaware of James' annoyed look and the snickers from Sirius and Remus. Beaming at the other two boys and clinging onto James' arms, she said: "Thank you so much, you two! I've always wanted to spend some time with James here!" She giggled. "Well, let's go honey!"

James' eyes opened wide as saucers, shooting an _I'm going to kill you two_ glare at Sirius and Remus, who were laughing at their friend's misfortune. 

"She seems like a nice and peppy girl, eh?" said Sirius, stifling one last chuckle as James and Kathleen disappeared from view. "I'm sure James will thank us late—ow! Watch it there!"

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry – hey, it's you!"

A small smile spread across Sirius' lips, beaming at the blonde girl standing in front of him, who was accompanied by an unfamiliar girl with short, curly brown hair. "Well, I never thought I'd see you outside of a prefect meeting," he said with a grin. "You know…I never did get the chance to introduce myself. I'm Sirius Black, and this here is Remus Lupin."

The blonde girl smiled, shaking Remus' hand. "Pleased to meet you two. I'm Diana Watson, and this is Arabella Figg," she said with a smile as Arabella shook the boys' hands. 

"Diana Watson? Then you must know Agatha Potter, he's our friend's little sister," said Remus. "She said she met you during the train ride to Hogwarts."

"Aggie? Oh yes, she's such a sweet girl. Too bad she's only a first year," replied Diana with a smile. "Who's her brother?"

"James Potter – that bumbling git that was with me during the prefect's meeting," said Sirius, smirking. "He's not with us right now…he's…er… with someone…haha…"

"Oh, him. I'm sure I'll meet him some other time," said Diana. "So…where are you two headed? Arabella and I were headed to Zonko's – she wants to check out some presents for her younger brother."

"Why don't you two come with us? I'm sure you two can give me some suggestions or something," proposed Arabella. "After all, you did turn Severus' robes pink, right?"

"Right you are! Let's go then!" exclaimed Sirius, draping an arm around Diana. 

Remus rolled his eyes good-naturedly, walking alongside Arabella. "This is going to be a long day…"

~~*~~~*~~

James sighed, resting his chin on his hands. Only ten minutes has passed, but the boy has already had the urge to run away atleast fifty times. _How long does it take to pick dress robes?_ He thought, shaking his head in exasperation. Glancing outside the window shop, he saw his two friends walking with two girls he had never met before. _Great, while I'm suffering, my best friends are off having fun! This isn't fair!_

"How about this, James?" came a voice, disrupting James' thoughts. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I asked Madame Rialto if she has it in a different color…I mean, red isn't really my color, isn't it James? Red's not a very pretty color anyway…it's too violent or something…I'm more of a pink person, really? Yeah, pink is the perfect color for me: very feminine and beautiful. A perfect color for someone like me – feminine and beautiful. What do you think, James? Is red a good color for me? Or do I look better in pink?"

James stared at the girl, dumbfounded, not paying her any attention. One word kept repeating over and over inside his head. _Red…red…red…_

_"I'm sorry again for running into you – I suppose I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going," she said, giving James a bright smile. The boy watched as the auburn-haired beauty sat across from him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and gently setting the two glasses of ice cream onto the table. He observed as she gently placed her red purse on the table, gingerly closing the flap. He smiled. "So…is red your favorite color or something?"_

_The girl looked at James, her emerald eyes holding wonder and amusement. "Why do you say that?"_

_A small grin spread across James' features. "Well let's see…your headband, your purse, your shoes, your shirt, and your ice cream – they're all red. I think I'm seeing a little pattern here: you like red."_

_The girl giggled. "I don't think pink counts as red, you know?" she said, looking at her shirt and the strawberry ice cream in front of her. "My shirt and the ice cream are both pink"_

_"True, but pink is derived from red, isn't it? Mix red with white, and you get pink…"_

_The girl smiled, her emerald eyes a pool of amusement. "You're an observant one, aren't you?"_

_"I can't help it: I like observing beautiful things…" replied James, avoiding the girl's blushing gaze. _

_"But it's funny, isn't it? _

_"What is?"_

_"Pink coming from the union of white and red," began the girl, a serious look spreading on her face. "Red is often associated with war, bloodshed; and white is often associated with purity, peace. Put them together and you get pink: the color representing feminity. What do you suppose that means?"   _

_James looked at the girl, admiration apparent in his eyes. "And you said I'm the observant one?" he said, sharing a laugh with the girl. "I suppose pink is a perfect color to represent women: beautiful but dangerous, am I right?"_

_The girl laughed. "That's a good analogy!"_

_"It is, isn't it?" said James. "So red is your favorite color then?"_

_The girl shrugged. "I don't know, really…I mean, I suppose…although, I know I don't look good in red anyway…or any color for that matter…"_

_"What are you talking about? You'd look good in any color…especially red and pink…" said James, his eyes gazing at hers intently. "You're the kind of girl who would look good in anything." _

_As though to prove that red was indeed her favorite color, a light shade of red spread across the girl's cheeks, her eyes looking down at her ice cream. "Thank you…"_

_"I was just being honest…"_

"Come on James, be honest! Tell me which color looks better on me – red or pink?"

James snapped back to reality, Kathleen's voice permeating his thoughts. He looked at the girl standing in front of the mirror, wearing red dress robes, and pink dress robes clutched in her hands. "Red or pink? What do you think, dear?"

"Neither."

Kathleen looked at James, a bit taken aback. "What?!"

"I said, you don't look good in either color, Kathryn," he said, getting up from his seat. 

"Kathleen," she corrected him, a bit peeved that the boy got her name wrong. "Well then, what color do you think will look good on me?"

"Black."

"Black?" she repeated, her voice a mixture of disgust and confusion. 

"Yes – black. So why don't you just wear your school robes?" said James, slightly annoyed that Kathleen is taking a long time to buy dress robes. "I'll be wearing mine, and so is a majority of the school. Why can't you?"

"James! Don't you want to have a date that looks good?" she whined, pleading for him to cool down. 

Sighing, James took a seat. "Listen, just buy some dress robes, alright? Only make sure it's not red or pink, because neither one of those colors is right for you." _Only one person looks good in red or pink – and trust me, she's not you…_

Kathleen squealed, taking joy in James' telling her that she can buy dress robes. "Thanks dear! It will only take a minute…now should I get green or blue? Or maybe lavender? Or fuchsia?"

James groaned. _This is going to be a long day…_

~~*~~~*~~ __

James and Kathleen emerged from Madame Rialto's shop fifteen minutes later, the Gryffindor prefect holding a bulging pink bag, a somewhat sour expression on his face. 

"Where do you want to go, Honey?" asked the girl, twirling a strand of curly hair in her finger. 

"Please don't call me that," said James, running a hand through his messy hair as he shook the girl off his arm. Looking around the street, the boy spotted his two friends standing in front of the Three Broomsticks, talking animatedly with two girls James did not know. "I'll be right back," he told Kathleen, shoving the pink bag towards the girl. 

"Why hello there, James!" greeted Sirius with a mischievous smirk. "Having a fun date?"

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" exclaimed James through clenched teeth, shooting Sirius a deadly look.

"James! Mind your manners," said Remus calmly, tilting his head towards the two girls next to him. 

James scratched the back of his head, a sheepish smile lining his lips. "Sorry about that. Hey – you're the girl from a few days ago!"

"You remember? I'm Diana, and this is Arabella," she said, introducing herself and her friend. "Who's your lady friend over there?"

The group turned its attention to the curly haired girl standing in front of the robes shop, waving at them. "Is that Kathleen?" said Arabella, squinting. "Yeah, it is! Kathleen!" Arabella ran towards the girl, giving her a huge hug, and after a few minutes of talking, brought her back to the group. 

"James dear, we should go," simpered Kathleen, taking a hold of James' arm. "We still have to go to Honeydukes!"

James gave his friends a now familiar death glare, allowing the girl to drag him away from the group, who watched the two as they disappeared from view. 

"So shall we go inside then?" asked Arabella, motioning towards the Three Broomsticks.

"Yeah, I'll introduce you two to Lily," added Diana, entering the tavern, Sirius and Remus in tow. 

~~*~~~*~~

Lily Evans sat at a table in the Three Broomsticks, waiting for Euan to bring over their drinks. She had agreed to accompany the boy during the Hogsmeade trip, seeing as they will be going to the Autumn Ball together. Sighing, she looked outside the tavern window, watching Hogwarts students pass by, all with jovial smiles on their faces. _ I wonder what Bella and Di are up to…_

"Hey there! Got the drinks!" came a voice, interrupting Lily's thoughts. The auburn-haired girl looked up, Euan who was holding two tankards of butterbeer. The boy sat down, handing Lily one of the glass, brushing off a few strands of sandy blonde hair off his eyes. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, neither one not knowing what to say. Finally, setting the butterbeer down onto the table with a light bang, Euan looked at the girl in front of him and spoke. "So Lily, will you be coming to the Quidditch exhibition match on Wednesday? Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor – should be exciting!"

Lily gave the boy a sweet smile. "I'll try, Euan. I overheard Dumbledore talking to Professor Flitwick about him wishing to meet me that day, so I'm going to have to check," she replied, somewhat relieved that Euan didn't pursue the subject. To be honest, Lily wasn't much of a Quidditch fan. Not once, in her five-year stay at Hogwarts, has she gone to a single Quidditch match (although her two friends have been trying in vain to get her to come). "But don't worry, I'm sure you'd do a great job. You are captain and all that!"

Euan gave the girl a thankful smile, taking a swig of the butterbeer and spilling a small amount on his robes. "Oh damn! I'll be right back, Lils." Lily watched as the boy walked away from the table, almost running into Madame Rosmerta. Shaking her head in amusement, the girl shifted her gaze to the tankard on the table, looking at the warm liquid conforming to its shape. _Butterbeer…_

_Lily watched as the boy sitting across from her shoveled a spoonful of frozen dairy in his mouth, slightly coughing at the coldness. "Are you alright?" she asked, reaching out for the boy's forearm. "It's a bit cold, so try not to put too much in your mouth."_

_"You'd think after seventeen years I would know that," mumbled the boy, slightly amused at himself. "I'm glad you ran into me, actually. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to taste their new butterbeer flavor!"_

_"That's butterbeer? I didn't even know that!" exclaimed the girl. "I just told the owner that I wanted to get a tall glass of the new stuff they've just brought out – it looked like the one you ordered before I ran into you."_

_"Oh, that was just plain ol' vanilla," said the boy, scooping a smaller amount of ice cream. "I can't believe you didn't even ask me what flavor I wanted! What if I didn't like it?!"_

_A sheepish smile spread across the girl's face. "I'm sorry…but I mean, you do like that flavor, right? It looks good from where I'm sitting."_

_"It is," replied the boy. A small smirk spread across his lips. "Do you want to try it?"_

_Lily shook her head primly. "No, it's alright. I'm fine with the strawberry."_

_"No really, come on taste it," offered the boy, shoveling a tiny amount of the dairy onto the spoon. "It's really good!"_

_"Oh alright," said Lily, sighing in defeat. She motioned to scoop some of the frozen dairy with her spoon, but the boy gently took a hold of her forearm. Lily looked at the boy, confused. "I thought you wanted me to taste it?"_

_"Here," said the boy, raising his spoon, offering the ice cream to the girl. "It's clean, you know…otherwise I wouldn't be eating from it."_

_Lily looked at the boy, bewildered, contemplating as to whether or not to take up the boy's small offer. After a second of thinking, and noticing that the boy will not put the spoon down, Lily decided to take the boy's offer. "Alright then."_

_The boy watched with amused eyes as he spoon-fed the girl, a small blush creeping across her cheeks. "Good, isn't it?"_

_Lily could only nod, avoiding the boy's intrigued gaze._

"Yoo-hoo! Anybody home?" asked Arabella, waving a hand in front of Lily's face. "Have you noticed she's always spaced out? I wonder what's on her mind?"

Diana lightly shook the girl's shoulder, snapping Lily out of her trance. "Hello there! What have you two been up to?"

"Nothing much. So, where's Euan?"

"He went to go wash some butterbeer he spilled on himself," explained Lily, turning her attention to the two boys standing behind Diana. "Hello there, I'm Lily. And you are?"

"Sirius"

"Remus"

"Pleased to meet you," Lily said with a friendly smile. "Please, have a seat."

"So, you're also a prefect?" asked Remus, taking a seat across from the three girls. "Sirius here is also a prefect – only been to one meeting, this boy."

"Oh please! I'm not the only lazy prefect!" exclaimed Sirius, shocked. "Look at J—"

"Sirius Black!"

"Euan Oldham! Ready to get trounced on Wednesday?" greeted Sirius, shaking the boy's hand in a manly way.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" replied Euan with a chuckle. "Well, we'll see. Say Lily, would it be alright if we go to Zonko's? I have to buy something…"

"Umm…is it alright if I meet you there? I want to talk to the girls for a minute."

"Alright. Well Sirius, good luck on Wednesday's match!" said Euan, leaving the group. 

"Say Sirius, I think it's about time for us to leave," said Remus, standing up. "Besides, Lily here wants to speak to them."

"Yeah…I suppose we could go find Prongs and see how he's doing," agreed Sirius, following his friend's example. "Well you three, we'll see you around. And Lily – it was very nice to meet you."

Nodding, the two boys said their goodbyes, walking out of the Three Broomsticks. 

"Hey Padfoot…Lily…"

Sirius shot his friend a puzzled look. "What about Lily?"

"Red hair, emerald-green eyes, beautiful pale skin…does she sound familiar to you?"

Sirius continued to stare at his friend in confusion, trying to process Remus' words. After a few seconds, his jaw dropped. "You don't think she's the mystery girl, do you?"

"Well…she does fit the description…and her name has four letters in it," began Remus. "Should we tell James?"

"I don't think we should, Moony. I mean, what if it's not her?" replied Sirius, thinking hard. "I don't want to get Prongs' hopes up."

Remus sighed. "I suppose you're right…well then, let's go look for our Casanova of a friend…"

~~*~~~*~~

"You know Lils, I wanted to ask you something," began Diana, wrenching her eyes away from the two boys who had exited the Three Broomsticks. "You've been so spaced out lately, and I wanted to know what's been on your mind…"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," said Lily, biting the bottom of her lip. "You see, over the summer…" The two Ravenclaw girls listened to their friend intently, gasping and smiling as the redhead told them about the boy she had met over the summer. After a few minutes, a short silence filled the air. 

"So wait…what's this boy's name again?" asked Arabella, intrigued. 

"James," replied Lily. "I know I shouldn't be thinking about him…but, this nagging voice in my head keeps reminding me that I may have made the biggest mistake of my life! What if I just ruined my destiny? I mean – what if we _were_ meant to be together?"

"Whoa Lily – slow down there!" said Diana, talking a hold of her friend's forearm. "Just because you spent two hours talking to a guy, it doesn't necessarily mean you two are destined for each other…what if this boy's some sort of psychotic witch killer? You never know…"

Lily sighed. "Well…I felt really comfortable with him, you know? I would think a girl will have an inkling if she's talking to some psychotic witch killer, as you put it…besides, he doesn't look like the type who cold hurt anybody."

"Lily, the guy had messy black hair…that kind of spells psychotic witch killer to me!" said Arabella with slight humor. "But I suppose the glasses and hazel eyes softened his features, eh?"

Lily smiled at the girls. "I don't know…I guess I'm just going to have to go about my life thinking of the one boy who got away," said Lily with a sigh, getting up from her seat. "Well, I better go now – wouldn't want Euan to wait for me and all. I'll see you two later!"

The two girls watched as Lily exited the tavern, a slightly somber expression on her face. 

"Poor Lily…you can't blame her, really," muttered Dian. "He did sound adorable…"

Arabella nodded, staring off to space as she played with her earring. She suddenly gasped. "Oh my goodness Di! James – glasses, hazel eyes, messy hair: doesn't that description sound familiar?!"

"Agatha's brother!"

~~**~~~**~~

Eep! I am so sorry if that was a horrible chapter…don't worry. I will end this story soon and the two will meet…I added some flashbacks here to kinda add a pinch of the desired L/J most people wanted. Sorry it's not such a romantic story…but there will be some romance in the end, so please don't lose faith in me. I can honestly say this chapter isn't really the best one – although I am really proud of that one line, "I can't help it: I like observing beautiful things." That line is golden right there! Haha…sorry, but I just think those were extremely sweet words to come out of James' mouth…Well, thank you again for reading this story, and please don't forget to review. I shall email you all (those in the mailing list) when I post chapter 5! God bless you all and until next time!

~~:Azaleafaye:~~


	5. Serendipitous Events...

Disclaimer: As always, those characters we've all grown to love – they're not mine (sadly…)

Author's Note: Hi All! I again would like to thank you all for the extremely positive reviews! I honestly am so glad that people like this story. And yes, I am aware that most of you are a bit frustrated that I keep doing that whole bit of the two being right there, but not realizing that they are there. Did that make sense? Blech…sometimes I can't write anything coherent_ Anyhow, here's the fifth installment of my little story. I hope you will all like it. It's a really important part of the story because…something happens that will lead to something…haha…I can't really say anything else…Alright, I'll stop pulling your strings here. Well, I hope you like this chapter and please, don't forget to review!

Chapter Five: Serendipitous Events…

Lily Evans sat at the end of the Ravenclaw house table, gingerly nibbling on a piece of bacon, a bowl of warm porridge in front of her. Every now and then, the girl would look up at the entrance to the Great Hall, her beautiful auburn hair gently gleaming as it caught a small amount of light, expecting to see her friends enter the great room for breakfast. _I hope they get here soon,_ thought the auburn-haired prefect, taking a sip of her milk. _Class starts in about an hour or so…_

As though reading her mind, Lily's friends entered the Great Hall, talking animatedly about some subject Lily couldn't hear. "It's about time you girls got here," greeted Lily, giving her friends a sweet smile. "I thought I was going to have to run up to the dormitories and shake you two awake!"

"You know you wouldn't have had to do that, Lily," said Arabella, taking a seat across the girl. "Agatha here barged into our dormitory so loudly, I thought the common room was on fire!"

The Ravenclaw first year smiled sheepishly, tucking a lock of black hair behind her ear. "Sorry about that…it's just that, today's the Quidditch exhibition match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. I'm just really excited to see my brother play!"

Diana gave the girl a shocked look. "Wait, you're not going to support_ our _team?" asked the girl, spreading a generous amount of marmalade on her toast. "Aggie! You're a Ravenclaw – you have to cheer for our team!"

"Oh of course I'll support the team, Diana," replied the girl, taking a bite of her toast. "I'm just excited because I've never seen him play in an actual match against another team before. If we win, then I'd be proud since I'm a Ravenclaw; if they win, then I'd be proud since my brother would be the reason for the win: he's an excellent Seeker!"

"Say Aggie, who's your brother anyway?" asked Lily, a mask of curiosity spreading across her face. "You always seem to talk about him, but I've never gotten the chance to meet him."

Diana and Arabella exchanged nervous glances. Both girls knew about Lily's little infatuation over a boy whose description was a perfect match of James Potter's features and both agreed that neither would tell Lily about it – they didn't want her to get excited over someone they _thought _matched her mystery man. Thinking fast, Arabella took a hold of Agatha's forearm, prompting the young lady to turn her attention to the 6th year. "Aggie, could you pass me the marmalade please?"

"So Lily," began Diana, taking this opportunity to steer Lily's curious gaze away from the young girl. "Will you be able to make it to today's match? I'm sure it will be fun…"

Lily looked at her friend apologetically. "I don't think I'll be able to make it, Di," Lily replied. "I received a note from Dumbledore yesterday, telling me that he wants to meet me today during the match."

"What?! Then how will you get to watch!" asked Agatha incredulously. "Besides, you can meet my brother after the match! He's pretty good-looking, you know…you two would make a cute couple!"

Lily looked at the girl with an amused glint in her eyes. "I've never gone to a single Quidditch match, Aggie," said the girl kindly. "And as for your brother and I making a cute couple, I'm sure he'd make a much better pair with someone else."

"Alright…if you say so," shrugged the girl, continuing on with her breakfast. Slowly, the rest of the Hogwarts students filed inside the room, proceeding to their respective tables and eating their breakfast. It seemed almost everyone in the room was excited at the Quidditch Exhibition match to be held later on in the day – boys here and there were making predictions as to who will win and girls here and there were swooning at the skills of the men in both teams. 

Looking at her watch, Lily slowly got up from her seat, looking at her friends with both an apologetic and panicked look on her face. "I'll be right back – I left my History of Magic Essay on my bed! Professor Binns will get mad if I don't hand that in on time!" The three girls watched as their friend ran out of the Great Hall, giving Euan Oldham a brief "hello!" and "good luck!" before turning left from the entrance, running back to the Ravenclaw common room. 

"What's up with Lily?" asked the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, nodding a good morning to the three girls and taking the seat vacated by the prefect. "She seems to be in a hurry…"

"She forgot her History of Magic essay," replied Agatha, taking a swig from her goblet. Quickly, the young girl set her goblet with a bang, standing up from her seat and waving her hands in the air. "James! James over here!"

Euan and the two girls (along with a few other students) turned their gaze towards the entrance to the Great Hall, where Sirius and James (along with Remus and a still sleepy Peter) sauntered in just seconds after Lily had exited the same entryway. James nodded at his friends, telling them to save him a seat, and walked towards the Ravenclaw table, returning his sister's wave. "Hey Aggie! It's a little too early to be energetic, I think," greeted James with a chuckle. "Save some of that for later, alright?"

"I will, I will…say, are you ready to get beaten James?"

"Haha…I don't know, Aggie…we'll see if Euan here will do a great job of getting some goals in before I catch the snitch," replied James, nodding a friendly hello to the boy. "He's a great chaser, this one – pity he's not on our team, really."

The two boys shared a laugh. "Well then, I better go eat something. Wouldn't want to play with an empty stomach and all," said James with a grin. He waved goodbye to the two girls and gave his little sister a small peck on the forehead. "Alright then Euan, see you on the field and good luck!"

"Same to you, Potter!"

~~*~~~*~~

Professor Binns droned on and on about the role of gnomes during the goblin and troll rebellion, emphasizing the apparently amazing technique gnomes used in digging trenches used for relaying information between battles. Lily, having read the lesson prior to class, decided to let her mind wander, doodling little gnomes on her parchment. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bell rang – prompting students to sigh in relief and file out of the professor's room. 

Following suit, Lily gathered her things and placed them in her bag, bidding her professor a nice day as she walked out of the room. 

"So Lily, is there any chance for you to atleast join us for the match? Euan will need our support," said Arabella, striding next to her friend. 

"Sorry you two, but I really can't blow Dumbledore off over some Quidditch match. Besides, there will be more later on in the year," said Lily, logically. "Well then, I better go. Give Euan my regards."

The two girls watched as their turned a corner, disappearing from view. "Bella, what are you doing?! I thought we agreed that she shouldn't see James Potter?" asked Diana, pulling her friend aside once the auburn-haired girl was out of earshot. "I really don't want her to get her hopes up…"

"Don't worry about it…she wouldn't have been able to see him anyway," said the girl, brushing off her friend's comment. "They fly way above in the air – extremely difficult to see, right?"

"What? The students are on suspended stands, Bella! Of course she'll be able to see!"

"Oh yeah…well then, aren't you glad she didn't agree to come then?"

Diana shook her head in amusement, scoffing at her friend. "I guess I am…well, let's go find Agatha then – I wouldn't want to run out of seats…"

~~*~~~*~~

James adjusted his Quidditch robes, nervousness absent from his voice as he began to give out his somewhat motivational speech. "Alright team – this is just an exhibition match, but I would still like you all to treat this match as an actual match. Let's show these folks why we've had the Quidditch cup for the past four years." 

Nodding at his now pumped-up teammates, James grabbed his broom and marched out of the locker room. "Let's give them a great show."

Following his captain and best friend, Sirius jogged to a stride next to James, who had his serious game face on. "Damn Prongs, how the hell can you be so serious about this game?" asked Sirius, a small smirk playing at his lips. "I thought you knew this match is all for fun?"

James shrugged, emerging out onto the Quidditch field, being welcomed by a loud roar from the fans on the stands. "I always take a Quidditch match seriously, Padfoot. Now then, give them hell!"

As the Ravenclaw team entered the field, an equally loud cheer welcoming them, the two captains nodded to each other, giving each other a firm handshake. 

"Mount your brooms!" 

Fourteen figures rose to the air – eliciting loud cheers from the crowd – half of which wore blue robes and the other scarlet. 

Steering clear from all the action, James flew a few feet above the other players, scanning the air for the familiar golden blur that is the snitch but at the same time, listening closely to the commentator down below ("And Oldham takes the quaffle! My, oh my, this boy can fly!"). Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of the Ravenclaw seeker tailing him, but with his superb flying skills, the Gryffindor captain easily lost her.

_Where are you…where are you…where are you…_chanted the boy in his mind, his eyes darting back and forth as he flew around the Quidditch pitch, quickly looking down as Euan scored for his team ("And that's ten points for Ravenclaw! Gryffindor up by thirty.") Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blur of black whizzed past James, lightly cutting his cheek. 

_What the hell was that?! _Thought James, turning to look, blood slowly dripping from his cut. His eyes widened when he saw a bludger speeding his way, intent on knocking him off his broom. Fortunately, Sirius got there in time, belting the black ball out of the way. "Hurry up and find the snitch, Prongs! I'm getting hungry," said Sirius, flying away from his friend. James nodded and flew off, eyes still darting back and forth, looking for the snitch ("Excellent work there by Gryffindor chaser, Johnson – puts his team in the lead by a margin of fifty points). A smile of triumph spread across James' face as he saw the familiar golden glint of victory. He leaned down on his broom, prompting it to go faster. _It's about time, James, _he thought to himself as he got closer to the snitch, which was hovering a good twelve feet above the Hufflepuff stands. 

With his brows scrunched in concentration, the boy extended his arm, ready to close his hands on victory. Unfortunately, however, James did not notice a bludger approach him from his side with great velocity. As he slowly grasped the golden snitch in his hands, the black ball ran straight into his outstretched arm, bringing out a loud scream from the boy. "Bloody Fuck!" yelled James, plummeting to the grass, his arms clutched in pain, the snitch flying away from his grasp. 

Sirius flew to his friend, a concerned look on his face, as Madame Hooch blew the whistle to stop the game. The other players from both teams landed next to the injured boy, the game forgotten, all with worried faces.

"James! James, I'm so sorry," began Sirius, his eyes filled with guilt. "I was aiming for Euan, not you! I don't know what went wrong!" 

Groaning in pain, James tried to sit up, only to find it difficult. "Come on then boys and girls, stay clear out of Potter's way," said Madame Hooch, urgency in her voice. "I've conjured up a stretcher."

Thirteen pairs of concerned eyes looked on, each oblivious to the curious noise by the crowd, who by now knew that something was wrong. A loud gasp from the crowd suddenly broke the air of concern. The same bludger that injured James came pelting back towards the boy, intent on hurting him even more. Euan, who had his back on the bludger – and who just happened to be standing in front of James – suddenly jerked forward, blood slowly dripping on his cheek, falling hard onto the ground as the bludger hit him behind his head. Luckily for James, before the black ball had the chance to hit his face, a familiar voice echoed through the air, freezing the ball an inch away from his nose. 

"Madame Hooch and Mr. Black, kindly take Mr. Potter and Mr. Oldham to the hospital wing," said Dumbledore gently, his face a mask of seriousness. "And Miss Fawcett (the Ravenclaw seeker), please find the snitch before it gets away. The rest of you may return to your locker rooms."

Dumbledore watched as the small group convened on the Quidditch field dispersed, the crowd still making protests of concern. He turned to the professors standing behind them. "Please tell your respective houses to return to their towers. And professor Flitwick, call on Agatha Potter – she must be devastated."

Nodding, the charms professor and his colleagues turned to leave, leaving Dumbledore standing on the field, alone. "What an unfortunate accident…" he sighed, glancing at the bludger, which was still suspended in midair. 

~~*~~~*~~

Lily sat by the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office, humming lightly to herself. _I wonder where Dumbledore is? _She thought, twiddling her thumbs as a faint roar echoed from afar. _Looks like the match is underway. I hope Dumbledore didn't forget about me! _

Sighing, the girl ran a hand through her silky hair, taking out _Summoning Charms and More: The Complete List of Magical Charms to Ease Everyday Life_ and proceeding to finish the last chapter of the book. 

"Where is he?" said Lily out loud, turning to the last page of the book after reading for about thirty minutes. "He's never been late to any meetings. I hope everything's alright." 

As if to answer her question, Dumbledore suddenly emerged from a corner with a passive look on his face, professors McGonnogal and Flitwick walking alongside the headmaster. Behind the three adults, a petite little girl sniffled, her face a dark shade of red, her eyes filled with tears.

Lily immediately stood up and collected her things, a mask of concern etched on her face as she approached the young girl, completely ignoring the three professors. "Agatha, what's wrong?"

"Why Ms. Evans, what are you doing here?" asked the headmaster, a look of confusion now taking over his features. 

"Oh professor, I'm sorry – I just ignored you there. But, what's wrong with Aggie?" asked Lily, smiling at the headmaster in acceptance of his apology. "Did something happen?"

The small man looked at the girl with downcast eyes. "Lily, Ms. Potter's brother was injured during the Quidditch match."

"Oh my goodness, is he alright?" asked Lily, shocked, giving the younger girl a supportive embrace.  

"He broke his arm; a stray bludger ran into his arm right when he caught the snitch," replied Professor McGonnogal. "But he's not the only one injured, Ms. Evans. Your Quidditch captain, Euan Oldham, was knocked out by the same bludger."

Lily gasped. "You mean, Euan's out cold?"

"I'm afraid he is, Ms. Evans," said Dumbledore with a small frown. "We think someone had tampered with the bludgers prior to the match. Unfortunately, we have no proof that someone actually did do that. The best thing we can do right now is to wish Mr. Potter and Mr. Oldham a speedy recovery."

A short silence passed, each person in deep thought. The silence was broken, however, when Agatha finally brought out the courage to speak. "Professor Dumbledore, may I please see my brother?"

"Actually Agatha, he's being treated at the moment," replied professor Flitwick. "Lily, why don't you take Ms. Potter back to the common room. I shall inform the both of you when you can visit the two boys at the hospital wing.

Nodding, Lily gently took a hold of the girl's arm, leading her back to Ravenclaw tower. 

~~*~~~*~~

Lily and Agatha entered the common room, greeted by their peers with concerned questions and supportive hugs. Diana and Arabella, both looking downcast, approached the two slowly. "I'm sure your brother is doing fine, Agatha. Just be thankful he's not unconscious right now."

Agatha sighed. "I suppose you're right. But poor Euan," she said, looking at Lily. "I don't think he will be able to attend Saturday's Ball, Lily. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. As long as he'll recover, I'm fine with not being able to go to the ball," replied Lily, a kind smile on her face.

The four girls sat in silence, each occupied with their own thoughts. Sighing, Diana took a copy of The Daily Prophet sitting on a coffee table and began to read. Following suit, Lily brandished her own book, eager to forget about the accident and eager to finally finish her book. The two other girls were left to their own thoughts, a spaced out look on their faces. _Agatha looks so upset,_ thought Lily, reading the last sentence of the book. _I wish I could do something to cheer her up…_

Closing the book shut, Lily, along with the other students in the common room, looked up when Professor Flitwick entered the common room, scanning the many faces for Agatha. "Ah, Ms. Potter," he said, walking towards the four girls. "Madame Pomfrey had approved for you to visit your brother. And the same goes for you, Lily – you may visit Euan anytime you like."

"He's conscious then?" asked Diana, peeling her eyes off the page. 

"Not yet, Ms. Watson," replied the professor. "We can only hope for the best. Well then, Agatha, come down to the hospital wing whenever you want to see your brother."

Agatha nodded at the head of Ravenclaw house, who by now has exited the common room. 

"Are you going to visit your brother then?" asked Lily, a supportive glint in her eyes. 

"Yes, I am. Would you like to come with me?" said the girl.

Lily looked at the first year, biting the bottom of her lip. She wanted to be supportive of the girl, but at the same time, she felt it was only appropriate that Agatha's brother only have visitors who are close to him. "I think it would be best if you came there by yourself, Aggie. Your brother would want to see his brother first, after all – not some random stranger."

Agatha nodded, getting up from her seat. "Well, I better go and freshen up first. Wouldn't want my brother to see how much of a wreck I was," chuckled the girl, her tears now shed. 

The three Ravenclaw sixth years watched as Agatha ascended the stairs towards the girls' dormitories, a small smile now playing at her still slightly red face. "I'm glad her brother's fine," said Lily, looking at the book in her hand. "I just wish I could do something to cheer her up even more…"

A small memory suddenly resurfaced within the girl's mind. _My brother's been looking all over for that book_, thought Lily, recalling her and Agatha's conversation on September 1st. "Diana, give me a page from that, will you?" said Lily, looking at her friend, who was still reading something on the Daily Prophet. 

"What?"

"Just give me a page," repeated the prefect, an enthusiastic smile on her lips.

Diana handed her friend a two-page spread from the publication, shooting Arabella a confused look. The two watched as Lily carefully wrapped the book with the spread, a small but satisfied smile spreading across her lips. "Where you going, Lils?" asked Arabella, watching as Lily got up from her seat and proceeded to walk towards the girls' dormitories. 

"I'll be right back – I'm going to give Agatha something."

Standing in front of the first year's dormitory, Lily lightly knocked on the door, a smile still etched on her lips. "Come in," came a voice from within. Opening the door, Lily entered the neat room cautiously, waiting for her friend to come out of the bathroom. "Hello Lily. Did you change your mind? Will you be coming with me to visit my brother then?"

"Oh no," replied the girl, shaking her head, her beautiful tresses gently rippling. Lily held out the wrapped book, Agatha staring blankly at the rectangular object. "Here you go."

"What is it?"

"Remember the first day I met you?" began the girl, taking a seat on one of the beds. "I was reading this book and you told me your brother has been looking all over for it. Well, I've finished it, and I thought your brother might like it."

"You don't have to do this, Lily. Honestly, he can find a copy of his own," said Agatha, declining the present. "I'm sure you love this book."

Lily smiled. "Listen Aggie: it's true that I love this book, in more ways than one. But Aggie, I'm sure your brother will be stuck in the hospital wing for a few days, knowing Madame Pomfrey," said the girl. "So please, give this to him – just think of it as my present to him or something. That way, I'd have a reason for him to meet me, right?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now take it."

Sighing, Agatha gently pried the book off Lily's hand, gently running her fingers through the coarse, Daily Prophet paper. "Why did you wrap it with paper from the Daily Prophet?"

A small blush crept across Lily's cheek. "I'm just following someone's suggestion…"

Raising her eyebrows. "Huh?"

"It's really complicated," said Lily, trying to avoid recalling the event. 

"Try me."

"The day I bought that book, there were two other people who wanted to buy it. One was an old man, probably around forty or so, and the other was this boy, around my age. The boy and I grabbed the book at the same time, and we kind of argued as to who should get it," said Lily, beaming at the girl as she recalled that fateful day. "When he set the book back onto the table, this old man stood right between us and took it. The boy just told the man that was his book, not giving out any reason."

Agatha watched the older girl intently, surprised that Lily was blushing – not once in the two weeks she had known the Ravenclaw prefect had the first year seen her blush. 

Lily laughed. "I saw that he was a bit flustered, not knowing what reason to give the man, so I jumped in and said the boy was my boyfriend and that he was contemplating as to…well, I didn't really know what exactly he was contemplating about, but thankfully, he said that he was mulling over as to whether he should wrap the book with fancy wrapping paper or just a page from the Daily Prophet." A brief pause. "Pretty weird story, I suppose. But yeah – that's where I got the idea of wrapping the book with such simple paper."

Agatha laughed. "You know, it's funny because that seems like something my brother would do – wrap a present with a page from the Daily Prophet. Thank you again, Lily," said the girl, giving the older prefect a hug. She turned to walk out of the room, stopping before completely leaving the room, and turning to face the auburn-haired beauty. "I'll make sure James thanks you for this face to face."

And with that said, Agatha closed the door of the dormitory, leaving Lily sitting on the bed, her eyes slightly wide in shock. _Did she just say James?_

~~*~~~*~~  

James opened his eyes, slightly groaning as his eyes adjusted to the light. Slowly sitting up, he looked around, trying to deduce where he was. _The hospital wing? What am I doing here,_ thought the boy, looking around. Next to his bed, Euan Oldham lay unconscious, a bandage wrapped around his head. _Oh yeah…bloody bludger_, he though, looking down at his arm. Wincing at the slight pain, James leaned back on his pillows, staring at the ceiling. He stayed this way for fifteen minutes, not even moving when he heard the door slightly open and footsteps quietly approach his bed.

"James, are you alright?"

Finally moving, James looked at his younger sister, a smile of relief spread across her face. "Aggie…"

"I was so worried about you, James. I thought something bad happened to you!" said the girl, trying her best not to sob. "I mean, not that breaking your arm isn't bad. Something worse could have happened." She glanced at the boy next to James. "Poor Euan…"

"Yeah…I wonder what went wrong with those bludgers," said James, casting Euan a sympathizing look. 

"Dumbledore thought someone may have hexed them," explained Agatha, taking a seat on a chair next to her brother's bed. Wanting to change the subject, Agatha plastered a cheerful smile on her face, the book Lily had given her clutched on her lap. "So James, has anyone visited you yet, or am I the first?"

"Sirius, Remus and Peter have," replied the boy. "Sirius still feels extremely guilty for hitting the bludger. Now he thinks he's the reason why Euan's lying here unconscious."

"Poor Sirius."

James laughed. "What are you talking about? This is great! I can finally get that git back. Once Euan wakes up, I'm going to tell him to make Sirius feel bad for pelting him with that bludger!"

Agatha looked at her brother, an incredulous expression across her face. "James, that's not very nice…"

"Well Aggie, that's because you weren't set up to go to the ball with some extremely horrible girl," James gently spat. "But I suppose you're right: it does seem wrong to take advantage of Sirius' feelings."

"Speaking of the ball, will you be able to attend? Or is Madame Pomfrey insisting that you stay here?"

"Honestly? I can leave after tonight, but I think I'll stay here until the night of the ball," replied the ball with a smirk. "You have no idea how horrible this girl is – she honestly thinks we're going out!"

Agatha giggled. "I'm sure she's not _that_ bad, James!"

"Ha! That's because you didn't have to go shopping with her! Honestly, she has too much energy, that girl!"

"You know James, you really need a girlfriend. I know someone who's perfect for you – she's incredibly intelligent and incredibly beautiful," said Agatha, nodding her head in approval of the girl. "I'm sure when you meet her, you'd fall for her instantly!"

James scoffed. "Aggie, not you too! Why does everybody insist on setting me up with a girl?"

"Would you rather I set you up with a boy? I think you and Sirius make a pretty good couple…"

"Nah…I think Sirius has a thing for that friend of yours, Diana," replied James with a grin. "Besides all the wonderful boys already have a significant other. Honestly, men are like toilets, Agatha: the good ones are always taken and the rest are full of crap…"

Agatha laughed at her brother's comment loudly. "James! Does that mean you're full of crap too?"

"I don't know, what do you think?"

"Nah James…you're alright. And trust me, any girl who falls for you definitely would not think that you're full of crap."

"You have two minutes left, Ms. Potter."

The girl turned to look at Madame Pomfrey, who was poking hear head through the door, a stern look on her face. "And please try to keep it down – there are other patients in here besides your brother, after all."

Agatha smiled sheepishly at the woman, turning her attention back to her brother. "Oh well, she's already kicking me out, James," she said, sighing. "Really James, you should go to the ball! You never know, this girl might be the perfect one for you…"

"We'll see, Aggie," said James, shaking his head in amusement. He pointed at rectangular package in his sister's hand. "What's that?"

"Oh my goodness, I almost forgot about this!" exclaimed the girl, handing the package to her brother. "It's a small present from one of my friends. She's been wanting to meet you for awhile now, but the two of you have been busy."

James accepted the present, smiling at the paper wrapping the object. "Is this a page from the daily prophet?" he asked, chuckling, gently tearing the coarse paper off the parcel. 

Agatha giggled. "Yeah it is."

"Holy crap, I've been looking all over for this book,' exclaimed James, a huge grin spreading across his face, remembering the day he met the girl. "I can't believe this person wrapped it with a spread from the Daily Prophet – that's something I would do!"

"She's an interesting girl, this one," began his sister, heading for the door. "She got the idea from a boy she met at Flourish and Blotts. She said she almost didn't get the chance to buy this book because an old man stepped in and claimed the book as his."

James slowly looked at his sister, his eyes slowly getting wider, his hands slowly setting onto his lap.

"Thankfully both she and the boy were fast thinkers and she said she was the boy's girlfriend and the boy said he was just thinking as to whether or not he should wrap the book with expensive paper or –"

"—with a page from the daily prophet," finished James, the book slipping off his hand. 

"Yeah. Well then, once you get out of here, make sure you remind me to introduce you to her," said the girl, stepping out of the door. "She's perfect for you, James!"

"Wait, what's her name?" yelled James, prompting his sister to stop before fully shutting the door.

"What?"

"Her name, Aggie. What's her name?"

"Oh it's Li—"

"Ms. Potter, I think it would be best for you to leave," interrupted Madame Pomfrey, giving the girl a cold glare. "You are disturbing my patients."

Agatha apologized to the woman, giving her brother a cheerful wave, shutting the door with a silent snap.

James stared at the door for a few seconds, his jaw hanging in shock. _Oh my God_, he thought, gripping the spine of the book. _She's at Hogwarts?_

Snapping out of his trance, James looked at the book in his hands, slowly turning the hard cover. Flipping through the first few pages, James stopped as he got to the title page, a small grin spreading across his face. "I've found her!" he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the almost empty hospital wing (Euan – the only other person in the room – was still lying next to his bed, unconscious). 

"Mr. Potter, another outburst from you and I will be forced to send you back to your dormitory," came Madame Pomfrey's voice. "Now please, calm down!"

"Sorry," apologized James, still smiling. James stared at the title page, the same smile fixed on his face. His eyes lingered on the two words written at the bottom of the page, right below a small paragraph written in the same elegant handwriting:

_Agatha's Brother,_

_I'm sorry if I referred to you as Aggie's brother, but I haven't got a clue what your name is. Anyway, I am so sorry about what happened today, and I wanted to help you out, so I decided to give this book to you – I know you've been looking all over for it. Well then, I hope you feel better soon. Maybe we can meet one of these days. I would really like to be introduced to the one person who has influenced such a sweet girl as Agatha. Well then, have a speedy recovery! _

_Hope you feel better,_

James traced the last two words on the paper, written in scarlet ink. "I've finally found you,"

Lily Evans 

~~**~~~**~~

So…how was it? I apologize if the Quidditch part was a bit…bland. I'm not much of an action writer, as you can tell. Originally, I planned on hurting Kathleen, but my mind was just not working, so I decided to drop that idea. I'm a bit disappointed though that I didn't do that, because Kathleen is annoying! Also, some parts, I thought, were a bit boring. Sorry for that too. Well then, I hope you did like the end of this chapter though. I'm sure most of you are cheering right now. Heck, I am too! We'll see what happens next. But, in order for you guys to see what exactly will happen next, you must review. So please, if you have the time, review this little chapter of mine. Well then, thank you so much for reading this chapter. I really appreciate it! God bless you all!

~~:AzaleaFaye:~~


	6. Serendipitous Events...Leads to Destiny

Disclaimer: I still, after six chapters, do not own any of the characters you recognize in this story. They are all Ms. Rowling's creation.

Author's Note: Hello! A thousand apologies for taking such a long time in posting the chapter. I've been extremely busy with school: chemistry midterm, Biostatistics homework and quizzes, etcetera. Anyway, I apologize for the lateness and I do hope that you have all been patient with me. Now then, thank you so much for the positive reviews for chapter five. That chapter was quite possibly the best piece I have ever written for any story! I'm so glad so many of you enjoyed reading it! Anyhow, here's the newest chapter. I hope you all like it and I apologize in advance if it's horrible. I'm currently suffering from sporadic writer's block – I keep writing nice paragraphs, and then I end up stopping because I get a huge brain fart. Hee_ Well then, please enjoy – and don't forget to review!

Chapter Six: Serendipitous Events…Lead to Destiny

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin descended into the common room, both with cheerful smiles on their faces, nodding at some third years who bid them a good morning. A group of fifth year girls waved at them, giggling as Sirius flashed them a charming smile as he exited the room with his friend. "Damn, Padfoot – stop flirting with the female population of Hogwarts!" exclaimed Remus, scoffing and rolling his eyes in amusement. "I thought you fancied Diana? How come you never flirt with her?"

"What are you on about?" asked Sirius, jumping over a missing step on the marble staircase, Remus following suit. "I always flirt with her! Just wait until tonight, when I turn on the Sirius Black charm. You'd be wishing you never asked me why I never flirt with the girl!"

Remus gave another scoff, finally reaching the Great Hall, entering the busy hall with his friend. As he neared the Gryffindor house table, Sirius suddenly took a hold of his robe sleeve, halting him in his tracks. "Say Moony, I'll be right back, alright? I kind of promised James I'd stop by before I get some breakfast."

"Wait, let me come with you then," replied Remus, turning to walk out of the hall with his friend. 

"No it's alright. You stay here and wait for Peter," answered Sirius quickly, taking a swift glance behind his friend. "I'm sure he'd get confused if he didn't find us here – you know how dense he can be sometimes."

Before Remus had the chance to reply, Sirius sped out of the Great Hall with a quick wave of goodbye. "What the hell is he in such a hurry for?" mumbled Remus, turning back to the table. "Bloody git…I'm hungry!"

"Remus Lupin!"

Remus groaned. _Oh no…not her._ Slowly, Remus turned around, feigning a cheerful expression on his face. "Hello Kathleen! How are you this morning?"

"Remus, I think I'll come and sit with you during breakfast," said the girl, a sweet smile on her face as she hooked her arms around the boy's. "I have to talk to you about something."

With Kathleen reluctantly in tow, Remus walked towards the Gryffindor house table, his mouth slightly agape in silent protest and exasperation. He turned his head to look at the entrance to the Great Hall, a mad expression spreading across his face as he saw Sirius waving at him, a mischievous and triumphant grin on his face. _I am going to kill that idiot_, thought Remus, lightly growling as Kathleen took a seat next to him. Taking a piece of toast, he turned his attention towards the girl – she may be annoying, but Remus isn't the type of boy who would be rude to a girl. 

"So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" 

"Has James finally been discharged from the hospital wing?" asked the girl, ignoring the questioning looks some Gryffindors sent her. "Who am I supposed to go to the ball with if he's not able to come?! I've bought some beautiful dress robes for tonight – he has to come!"

Remus sighed, Kathleen biting the bottom of her lip. "Well Kathleen, I spoke to James and he said Madame Pomfrey told him he cannot leave until Sunday morning," answered Remus, taking a bite from his toast. "I guess you'll be going solo tonight then. I'm sorry." 

"But why?!" whined the girl with a pout. "I should march over to Dumbledore right now and complain about Madame Pomfrey! She shouldn't deprive my James of spending a wonderful evening with me!"

"Alright, first of all – he's not _your _James," stated Remus, looking at the girl with light venom. "You were just lucky that Sirius and I hooked you up with our friend." _Although I have to admit, we made a HUGE mistake in doing so._

A few moments of silence passed, both sixth years munching on their toasts. Finally, after finishing her toast and taking a sip from a goblet, Kathleen decided to speak. "Since James isn't available tonight, then I suppose I'm going to have to go with Sirius. He's rather good looking as well, I suppose."

Remus looked at the girl, slightly peeved. "You can't go to the ball with Sirius," Remus simply answered, not looking at the girl.

"And why not?"

"Because he already has a date," replied the boy, taking a drink from his goblet. _Plus, Padfoot's way too good for you._

"He does?!" asked the girl with a scoff. "That's alright – I'll just go with you!"

Remus choked. "What?!"

"Yeah – we'd look good together, don't you think?"

"Umm…nah…I…no, that's not a good idea, I think"

"And why not?" asked the girl, an eyebrow raised, a questioning look etched on her features. 

"I can't go with you because—erm…" Remus searched his brain for answers, glancing nervously around the Great Hall. A small smile of relief passed across his face as he saw Peter enter the Great Hall, his hair a horrible mess. "—Because I overheard Peter saying that he fancies you! He said if you weren't going to the ball with James, he would _love_ to take you."

Kathleen's eyes lit up. "Really? Peter Pettigrew is that short one, isn't he?"

"Yeah, that boy over there," said Remus, nodding towards his friend, who was nearing the table. 

"Well, he's not as good looking as James, Sirius, or you – but I suppose he'll do. Atleast he's connected to James somewhat. Alright then. Tell him to meet me in front of the Library at around 7:30 or so," said Kathleen cheerfully, getting up from her seat. "And he better not be late." Giggling, the girl tossed her hair and left for the Hufflepuff table, taking a second glance at Peter. 

"Morning Moony!" greeted Peter, taking the seat vacated by the girl. "What was she doing here?"

Remus looked down, trying to hold back laughter. "Umm…well Wormtail, you know how you don't have a date to tonight's ball?"

"Yeah?" said Peter, eating a spoonful of porridge.

"Well guess what? You have a date now!" exclaimed Remus, a fake cheerful expression on his face. 

"Really?! Who is it then?" asked Peter, an enthusiastic mask on his face, setting his spoon onto the bowl. "Is she pretty?" 

"Erm…of course she is!" said Remus, slowly getting up from his seat. "Nice brown hair…"

"So who is it?"

"Umm…she said I shouldn't tell you – she wants it to be a surprise!" answered Remus, running a hand through his hair. _Nice one, Remus._ "Just make sure you meet her in front of the library at exactly 7:30 – trust me, you wouldn't want to upset this girl."

"Don't worry, Moony. I'm sure she wouldn't be as bad as Kathleen Henderson – she's extremely annoying, that one."

Remus laughed nervously. "Yeah, she is…well then, I'll be right back. Have to go get Sirius…"

Peter nodded, continuing to eat his breakfast as Remus left the Great Hall, heaving a sigh of relief. 

~~*~~~*~~

"Good morning, Madame Pomfrey!" greeted Sirius, sending the witch a charming grin. "Such a fine Saturday, isn't it?"

"Yes it is," replied the witch with a warm but thin-lipped smile. "Now then, if you're going to visit Mr. Potter, I suggest you try to lower your voice. You have a tendency to speak rather loudly, Mr. Black."

"I'll keep that in mind, Madame Pomfrey," complied the boy, entering the patient's room of the hospital wing. "But I can't guarantee it!"

Closing the door, Sirius slowly walked towards his best friend's bed, noting that Euan Oldham still lay motionless on the bed next to James'. Wrenching his eyes away from the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, Sirius looked at his friend, who was gently snoozing. With a mischievous smile on his lips, Sirius cheerful hopped onto the end of James' bed, snapping the boy out of his sleep. "Wake up Prongs!"

James groaned. "Bloody hell, Padfoot! Can't you see it's too damn early to jump on a sick person's bed?" snapped James, glaring at his friend. "What in the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"What, is it wrong for a boy to visit his best friend?" asked Sirius, in mock offense.

"Well, it is if the boy decided to wake up the best friend in a rather rude fashion!"

Laughing, Sirius hopped off the bed and grabbed a chair, James wincing as its legs scraped the floor, and took a seat. "God James, you really need to get out of this boring as hell place. Anyway, the reason why I'm here is…well…alright, to be honest? I just came here to avoid your annoyingly ditzy girlfriend."

"Shut the hell up! She's _not _my girlfriend."

"Right. Well anyway, I left her with Remus – he's a nice boy, I'm sure he can handle her."

"I am going to kill you, Sirius!"

Sirius turned around and looked at his friend, who had an angry expression on his face. "Well, speak of the devil!"

"Why the hell did you leave me with Kathleen, of all people?"

"What are you on about?" asked Sirius, feigning an innocent look. "She looked like she wanted to talk to you, so I left you alone! What did she want anyway?"

"She wanted to know if James here is still available for tonight," explained Remus, the anger slowly ebbing out of his system. "But since I'm a kind friend, I told her he couldn't make it tonight – so I told her Peter will accompany her to tonight's ball."

James and Sirius laughed, loudly. "Peter?! Why the hell did you do that?"

"Because, she wanted to go with you Padfoot. But I told her you already had a date."

"See, you really are the reliable one, Moony!" said Sirius cheerful, giving his friend a pat in the back. 

Remus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know I am – unlike _some _people I know," said the boy, glaring at Sirius. "So James, how are you?"

"I'm alright, I suppose. Although sitting here listening to silence is extremely boring," said James with a sigh. "Good thing Agatha gave me this."

He held up the book with his left hand, a fond smile on his lips as gently flipped through the pages. 

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, looks of confusion and bewilderment on their faces. "James, are you alright?" said Sirius, breaking the silence. "You're weirding me out here – you're too quiet."

James looked up at his friends. "You know my mystery girl? Well…I've found her – she's here at Hogwarts."

"What?!" yelled Sirius in disbelief, his voice bouncing off the walls of the large room. Remus gave his friend a cautionary glance. "Padfoot, shut up! Madame Pomfrey might kick us out again! Now James, who is our dear mystery girl?"

"Her name is Li—"

"Mr. Black! I am sorry but I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave," came Madame Pomfrey's stern voice, cutting James off. "You are once again disturbing my patients!"

Remus chuckled as the stern witch lightly slammed the door. "I told you to keep it down, Padfoot. Oh well, I suppose we better get the hell out of here. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side, after all."

Sighing, Sirius got up from his seat, stretching and running a hand through his mop of black hair. "Oh sure: she's damn good at healing anything that ails yah, but that lady sure can be a real bitch!"

James chuckled as his friends hurried to the door, Sirius in lead. "Wait you two," said James, halting his friends. "Could you draw the curtains around my bed please?"

"Why James, need the privacy?" smirked Sirius, raising his eyes somewhat suggestively. "You wouldn't need it, you know – Euan's still hasn't waken."

"Shut up, Padfoot!" snapped James, an irritated expression on his face. "I don't want anymore visitors, that's all."

"Not even Agatha?" asked Remus, snapping the curtains shut.

"Yeah, not even my sister. Although, tell her I said hello."

"Alright James. We'll see you later then, I suppose."

"Yeah. Have fun at the ball tonight," said James as his friends closed the door. The boy stared at the white curtain for a few seconds, listening intently to the loud silence that filled the room once his friends had shut the door. It was odd, sitting in bed for three straight days, nothing but a book to keep him company. Sighing, James gently placed the text onto his bedside table, and leaned back onto his pillows. "I might as well get some more sleep or something…"

Shutting his eyes, the Gryffindor prefect prepared to return back to slumber, only to have his eyes wrenched back open when he heard the door gently creak open. Remaining in his lying position, James listened intently as light footsteps filled the room, wondering who produced such a soothing noise. 

"Hello Euan."

James' eyes widened as saucers, lightly gasping as he heard the voice. _No…it can't be…it's…_

"It's me – Lily."

Controlling the urge to jump off the bed, open the curtain, take the girl into his arms, and kiss her passionately, James clutched the end of his blanket, intent on listening to the melodious voice of his angel. 

~~*~~~*~~

"I'm sorry I'm whispering right now," said Lily, gently taking a seat on the chair earlier vacated by Sirius. "Madame Pomfrey warned me not to speak too loudly – she's already had to kick out two students because they were being too loud." She giggled demurely. "Also, Agatha's older brother is in here. He's probably lying on the bed next to yours. I wouldn't want to disturb him; he seems like such an incredible person." Lily smiled, looking at the curtained area a few feet away from her, trying to make out an outline of a face. She saw none. 

Sighing, Lily reverted her attention back to the boy lying in front of her. "Ravenclaw house has missed you so much, Euan. We've all been waiting for you at the tower, incredibly anxious when you'd enter through the doors and greet us with that smile of yours," whispered Lily, gently laying a hand on the boy's forearm. "As for the ball, well…I wouldn't be going. It would be wrong for me to have fun while my date is lying here, still unconscious." 

Lily sat next to the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, her hand still gently resting on his arm, staring into space and lightly humming. After a few minutes of silence, the girl finally snapped back to reality, giving his friend a warm smile. "Well then Euan, I better go," said the girl. "Madame Pomfrey is probably wondering what I'm doing here."

Gently brushing off some imaginary dust off her robes, Lily stood up from her seat and gave Euan one last look, turning around to leave the room. As she extended her hand to grasp the doorknob, the red-haired beauty turned her head and looked straight at the curtain concealing the bed (and possibly the boy) behind its white cloth. Without taking her eyes off the curtain, Lily gently turned the doorknob open and smiled. "Get well soon, James Potter," she whispered, loud enough to fill the silence in the room, and left the two patients to rest.

James sat bolt upright on his bed as the door snapped to a close, his mouth agape. Throwing his blanket off himself, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and got up, slightly getting tangled on the curtains, his book falling onto the floor with a loud bang. Neglecting to put on his shoes, the Gryffindor prefect tripped as he hurried to the door, fumbling on the doorknob, a panicked look on his face as he came face to face with Madame Pomfrey. "Mr. Potter, is anything the matter?!" asked the witch, her hands resting on her hips. "I believe you're about ready to return to Gryffindor tower…"

"Where is she, Madame Pomfrey?" inquired the boy, ignoring the adult witch's stern questioning. 

"Where is who, Mr. Potter?"

"That girl who just left – Lily Evans?! Where did she go?!"

"I'm sorry James, but I'm afraid I don't know where Ms. Evans had gone to," replied the witch. "I'm assuming she's gone straight to the Ravenclaw common room, after all, that is her house."

James ran a hand through his messy hair. "Where's the Ravenclaw common room?"

A stern expression suddenly overcame the healer's face. "Mr. Potter! I cannot divulge such information to anyone else other than a professor!"

"Come on Madame Pomfrey!" pleaded the boy. "You don't understand: I _have to see her!"_

"Mr. Potter! Again, I cannot tell you the location of Ravenclaw house," replied the adult, shaking her head. "Now, since it seems like you are feeling much better, I think it would only be appropriate for me to discharge you out of the hospital wing."

"But—"

Madame Pomfrey raised her voice. "No buts! I want you to return to your dormitory before noon!" With that said, the stern witch turned around and returned to her work, lightly slamming the door into James' face.

Sighing in defeat, James crawled back to bed, closing his eyes, trying to forget about the voice of his beautiful redhead. After a few minutes, he succeeded, falling into a light slumber, waking up three hours after the stern witch had threatened to kick him out of the hospital wing. 

"Damn it all," swore the boy, clutching his temples. "What time is it?" James glanced at his watch, reading the time as 11:30. "Oh shit, I better get the hell out of here before Pomfrey yells at me again…"

Slowly getting off his bed, the Gryffindor prefect slipped on his shoes and prepared all his belongings, getting ready to leave the hospital wing for good. "Alright then, Madame Pomfrey," said James, nodding at the witch. "I'm all better now so I'll be leaving. Thank you for all the help."

"Yes, you keep out of trouble now," said the Nurse with a smile as James disappeared from view.

~~*~~~*~~

"Why hello dear," greeted the Fat Lady with a smile. "We've all missed you so much. Are you feeling better then?"

"I'm alright," responded the boy with a grin. "Cherry Cordials."

"Ah yes, my favorite!" exclaimed the Fat Lady as she swung open, granting James access into the common room. 

As the sixth year prefect entered the large room, a group of excited students immediately paid him attention, giving him cheerful welcomes. Smiling as girls swooned over him, James excused himself from his peers, walking up the stairs leading to the boy's dormitories. He stopped as he finally reached the sixth year dormitory, opening the door swiftly, missing Peter by an inch. James took three steps into the room, only to be tackled onto the floor by his best friend. 

"Jamesie! You're back!"

"Damn Padfoot!" said James, pushing his friend off himself and getting up from the floor. "You saw me a few hours ago, so don't feed me with all this 'I missed you so much' bullshit." 

"James! Can I help it if I'm incredibly attached to my best friend?" said Sirius, feigning hurt, getting off the floor. Remus and Peter looked on in amusement. "Well, I'm just glad you're back, that's all. Remus and Peter can be quite boring sometimes."

"Oh shut up, Sirius," said Remus, chucking a pillow at his friend. "We can't help it if we lack your great energy." He turned to face James. "So you _are better then?"_

"Yeah, I've been better since two days ago," replied James, taking a seat at the edge of his bed. 

"So James, since you're back and all, will you be going to the ball?" asked Peter, a curious look on his face. 

"I don't think I will, Wormtail."

"Why not?" 

"I don't know. I don't really feel like it," replied the boy with a shrug. "I think I'll just go ahead and finish up this book or something."

"James, I think you should go back to the hospital wing – you obviously aren't feeling well," said Sirius, taking a hold of his best friend's forehead. "You've never voluntarily read a book unless there's an exam the next day!"

"Haha," laughed James mockingly. "Listen, you can say whatever you want, but I've already decided – I'm not going to the ball. Kathleen might see me and start yapping on about my being her boyfriend, even though I'm not!"

"Don't worry Prongs – if she sees anyone of us three, we'll just tell her you're still lying in the hospital wing!" said Peter with a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she'll be clinging to some other guy after that!"

"Thanks Wormtail…"

Remus' eyes suddenly widened as he remembered a little date he had arranged for Peter. "You know what, Prongs? I think it would be best if you didn't come to the ball," began Remus, shooting Sirius – who was about to say something in protest – a "be quiet" look. "I don't want to subject you to such torture – Kathleen can be a handful, really."

"Thanks Moony, I knew you'd realize that soon enough," said James, nodding at his friend. "Well then, I'm going to get some more sleep – haven't had the chance to get some rest since Sirius here jumped on my bed."

"Come on then you two," said Remus, nodding at his friends and heading towards the door. "Let's leave him alone."

Following suit, Peter and Sirius moved from their places and exited the dormitory, closing the door with a snap, leaving James to rest. The three friends reached the common room quietly, scanning the room for any empty seats. "Wait you two, I have to go and do something," said Peter, calling his friends' attention. "I'll see you two later then."

Sirius and Remus watched as their friend exited the common room, not looking back. "What the hell? Where's he going," asked Sirius to no one in particular. Shrugging, he turned his attention to the boy standing next to him. "Moony, why the hell did you agree with James that he should not go to the ball? He needs to have some fun, dammit!"

"Padfoot, you bloody idiot!" began Remus, walking towards a pair of armchairs by the window overlooking the lake. "You've already forgotten that Kathleen is now going to the ball with Peter? Damn Padfoot, you have the worst memory in the world!"

"So what? He won't see her if she's going to be with Peter the whole time!" retorted Sirius, rolling his eyes as if his comment was the most obvious thing in the world. "We'll just stay out of Wormtail's way the whole night."

Remus sighed. "Now, I know he's our friend, but sometimes, Peter can be rather unreliable. If he sees that we've set him up with Kathleen, I have a hunch that he will immediately tell her that James is somewhere inside the Great Hall."

Sirius groaned. "Damn, you're right…oh well, I guess our dear old friend will just have to survive without us for four hours – hope he doesn't die or something."

"Oh please, I think he'd much rather read in the library for four hours than to endure four hours of you flirting with Diana Watson," said Remus with a chuckle. 

Sirius laughed mockingly. "Too bad for you then, since I'm going to make sure that you'll be around Diana and I the entire evening…"

Remus groaned. "Oh, that's just bloody great…"

~~*~~~*~~

The afternoon passed by quickly without any event, James remaining in bed the whole time; Sirius and Remus creating havoc in the common room (well, mostly Sirius); and Peter doing whatever it was he had set out to do. At around 7 in the evening, when Peter had finally gone back from his errand, the three friends decided to get ready for the ball. 

"You know, I honestly don't understand why girls need four hours to get ready for a simple ball," said Sirius, glancing around the room, noting that only boys remained sitting on the couches. "It only takes a second to put on dress robes."

"I don't know, Padfoot. I don't know," said Remus as he opened their dormitory door. "I don't think any male can ever fathom the female mind."

Sirius chuckled, grabbing a pillow from his bed. "I suppose you're right, Moony," he said, chucking the pillow towards the still sleeping James. "Prongs, wake up!"

"What the hell Sirius, it's still dark out," groaned James, covering his face with his blanket. "Leave me the hell alone."

"Umm…James? It's seven in the evening. I think it's about time that you wake up – we're all leaving for the ball soon."

James sat up on his bed with a groan, reaching for his glasses. "Where's Peter?"

"I suppose he's getting ready to meet up with his 'mystery' date," replied Sirius, running a hand through his hair and adjusting his school robes. "Alright then, I'm ready to go."

"What the hell? That was quick. Don't you want to change into a different set of school robes, Sirius?" asked James with a chuckle. "I'm sure Diana would like that."

"Don't worry about it James. Padfoot here didn't do anything strenuous this afternoon – his robes are still fresh and clean," said Remus, himself not bothering to change into a new set of robes. He looked at Sirius. "You ready to go then?"

"Yes, I suppose we better go then," nodded Sirius. "I don't want to keep my date waiting after all."

The two boys walked towards the door in a line, neither one saying a word. "Say Prongs, will you tell Peter that we'll meet him in front of the Great Hall?" said Remus, turning around before fully leaving the dormitory. 

"Yeah."

"Thanks. And have fun reading your book!" said Remus, snapping the door shut. 

Sighing, the Gryffindor prefect got off his bed, putting on his school robes. He turned around as Peter emerged from the bathroom, wearing a set of new dress robes and smelling of aftershave. "Damn Wormtail, are you sure you've put enough aftershave on?"

Peter stopped in his tracks. "Should I go and put some more on?"

"No – I was being sarcastic, Peter," said James with a chuckle. "Well then, are you ready? Sirius and Remus said they'd meet you in front of the Great Hall."

"Yeah, I'm ready. Say James, could you come with me to the library?" asked Peter. "I have to meet my date there."

"Well, I was actually planning on staying here to read," replied James, trying his best to squirm his way out of going to the library with Peter. 

"It's perfect then – the library's the best place to read books, after all!" said Peter, a hopeful look on his face. "Come on James…please?"

"Fine," he said with a sigh, following the boy out of the dormitory. 

The walk to the library was spent in silence, neither one of the boys willing to speak. A relieved smile spread across James' face as the two reached the entrance to the book depository, noting that Kathleen was nowhere in sight. "Well then, Peter, I'll leave you here to wait for you date," said James, patting his friend's shoulder and wishing him luck. 

"You're going to need it," he mumbled as he entered the empty library, leaving his friend behind, the smell of old books filling his nose as he received a bewildered stare from the librarian. "Good evening," greeted the boy with a charming smile. "Would it be alright if I stayed here for a few minutes and read a few things?"

"Things – such as books, you mean?" asked the librarian, her glasses resting at the end of her nose. 

"Yeah, those things," said James with a chuckle, walking away from the front desk and taking a turn next to a row of shelves, disappearing from view. After a few seconds of walking, the messy-haired boy pulled a chair from the nearest table, ignoring the numerous books resting on the desk, and took a seat. _God, I can't believe I'm here_, he thought to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. _I've been here for six years and not once have I set foot in here._

Propping his feet onto an adjacent chair, James leaned back and read _Summoning Charms and More: The Complete List of Magical Charms to Ease Everyday Life_, the quiet atmosphere of the library filling his ears. Fifteen minutes into the chapter, the boy heard footsteps gradually getting closer to his table. Snapping his head up, the boy looked behind him, his brows scrunched in annoyance. His eyes suddenly opened in shock as a familiar looking girl wearing periwinkle blue robes came into view, her curly hair bouncing with every step. _Oh shit…I'm going to kill Peter…_

"Oh my God! James, you're back!" squealed Kathleen, running towards the boy with a huge smile on her face, Peter a few feet behind her. "Thank God! Now we can go to the ball together!"

James, his mouth agape in shock, glared at Peter as the Hufflepuff girl dragged him off his seat and out of the library (the book dropping with a thump onto the floor), Madame Pomfrey staring at the three teens in annoyance. 

Kathleen, squealing the whole trek to the Great Hall, beamed as they reached the entrance filled with students, a cocky smile spreading across her lips as girls stared at her date. James, who was in no mood to be jovial about the evening, remained silent – he was still upset at his friend for squealing his location to the girl. As the three teens neared the Great Hall, James gave his two best friends a pleading look, angrily nodding towards Peter as Sirius and Remus looked at their friend with questioning gazes. 

"Umm…well hello there Kathleen," began Remus. "I thought you were going to the ball with Peter?"

Kathleen giggled. "You're so silly sometimes, Remmy! There's been a change in plans, since James here decided to accompany his beautiful girlfriend to the ball."

Before anyone had the chance to speak, the great oak doors opened, allowing students to enter the room, signaling the start of the ball. Students entered the great room in lines, excited whispers filling the air. A collective gasp filled the Great Hall as the lights were slowly brightened to a glow, revealing elegantly decked tables scattered about in the large room, the middle area empty for dancing. For the first hour, students sat on the chairs circling the tables, eating their dinners and drinking some chilled juice. Finally, when the music began, students slowly filled the dance floor – Sirius and Diana included – and a few remained in their seats, talking amongst their friends. 

"James dear, could you please get me something to drink?" asked Kathleen, pointing towards a refreshment table. "I'm thirsty."

"Yeah. Sure," said James, getting up from his seat, Remus right behind him. "Of course she's thirsty – why else would she want a drink?!"

"I'm sorry James. It's all my fault – I shouldn't have said that Peter wanted to go with her," apologized Remus, a guilty look on his face. "I should have realized he might turn on you and tell her you're actually alright."

"Don't worry about it," said the boy, reaching for a glass as he slowly poured some liquid (he wasn't sure – and didn't really care – what the liquid was) into a goblet. He watched as his annoying "girlfriend" talked to his so-called friend and some other students, an annoyingly huge smile plastered on her face. "It's not your fault. I'll just try and ignore her the rest of the night or something…" 

The two friends stood in front of the beverage table for about fifteen minutes, James not wanting to return to the table with Kathleen and Peter. He watched with a smirk as Diana and Sirius danced energetically, students making some room for the two out of fear of getting hurt. "Those two seem to be hitting off, eh?"

"Yeah. He really likes her," said Remus, himself taking a goblet from the beverage table. "And for some reason, she seems to like him…"

James chuckled.

"Umm…excuse me? James?"

The two friends turned their attention to a fifth year Gryffindor they knew only by familiarity. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering if it's true…"

"What's true?" repeated Remus, a bewildered look on his face. 

"Is it true that you and Kathleen Henderson over there are a couple?"

"What the hell? No, we're not!" exclaimed James, light anger burning in his hazel eyes. "What made you say that?"

"Well, my friend told me that Kathleen's been announcing to the whole school that you two _are together," explained the girl. "I just wanted to clarify the rumor because you don't seem like the type who would fall for someone as…erm…ditzy as her."_

The light anger burning in the Gryffindor prefect's eyes became darker, his eyes narrowing into slits. "The nerve of that bitch!" Shrugging off Remus (who was trying to restrain the boy), James trudged towards the table where Kathleen and Peter sat with other students, talking animatedly.  He abruptly stopped behind Peter, gently yanking the boy off his chair and pointing a finger at Kathleen. 

"Who gave you the _fucking _right to tell people that we are together?" yelled James, prompting a few students to look his way.

"James dear, what are you talking about?" asked Kathleen with a whisper, feigning a smile. 

Oblivious to the curious stares he received from other students, James continued on. "Don't call me dear! Now, I can handle shopping for dress robes with you and walking down the halls with you hanging off my arm and squealing at my ears – but you telling lies about my being your boyfriend, that I cannot tolerate!"

By the time the last word had escaped James' lips, the entire student body had dropped whatever they were doing; everyone had their gazes locked on the Gryffindor prefect and Quidditch captain. Professors got up from their seats, ready to approach the angry boy, but stopped when Dumbledore held up a hand. "Leave him be, my colleagues."

With a dubious look at the headmaster, the professors remained in their place, shifting their attention back to the boy. 

"I don't know what you're trying to pull here, Kathleen, but as of this moment, I want to make it clear that _I do not _like you in a romantic way whatsoever. I never have and I never will!" James ran a hand through his hair in frustration, heaving a sigh. "I'm sure you have some wonderful trait in you Kathleen but so far, I haven't seen it – and trust me, I never will want to see it. And hate me as much as you want but know this – you are a stuck up ditz whose sole purpose in life is to annoy the living hell out of anyone you meet! The only thing you have going for you is your aesthetic beauty, that's it!" James stood rooted on the spot, his hands clenched to his sides in anger, never blinking as he looked at the girl with anger. With a frustrated groan, he sharply turned around, intent on leaving the Great Hall. He stopped, however, when he reached Peter, who had his head bowed in embarrassment. "And as for you – I thought you were a friend," spat James, glaring down at the cowering Peter. "But at this  moment, I am deeply questioning our friendship."

The crowds parted as the usually jovial and cheery Gryffindor captain stormed out of the Great Hall, not saying another word. Remus heaved a sigh as James exited the room, debating whether or not to follow his friend and calm him down. "Thanks a lot, Peter," he said, finally deciding to track James' footsteps, walking away from the group. He scoffed (along with other students in the room) as he heard Diana say, in a loud and unabashed voice: "Oh please, he didn't deserve to have me as a girlfriend anyway. I mean, I'm too good for him."

Fighting the urge to walk back towards the girl and yell at her, Remus shrugged off her comment and continued his walk out of the Great Hall, only to be stopped by Sirius, who had taken a hold of his arm. "Moony, leave him alone," said the boy, an unreadable mask on his face. "He needs to cool off by himself."

Sighing, Remus complied. "I suppose you're right…"

After a few more seconds of silence in the Great Hall, Dumbledore finally chose the time to speak. "Well now, as entertaining as that was, I believe we have a ball to return to," said the Headmaster with a jolly grin. "So, grab your dance partners and have fun!"

~~*~~~*~~ 

James hurriedly walked the halls of Hogwarts castle, still fuming from his tirade in the Great Hall, ignoring the stooping figure of a student picking up something from the floor, intent on returning to Gryffindor common room. He looked up at the fat lady upon reaching the portrait hole, trying his best to wear a mask of coolness. "Cherry Cordials."

"What's the matter, my dear boy?" asked the Fat Lady, her face scrunched in concern. "Did something happen at the ball?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," replied James, walking through the opening. 

"Alright, if you say so dear," said the Fat Lady, quietly snapping the entrance shut.  

Heaving a sigh, the Gryffindor sixth year plopped onto the softest and most comfortable armchair in the common room, staring into space, trying his best to forget about the incident in the Great Hall. He groaned in frustration as he leaned forward and grabbed a random book off the coffee table, closing his eyes, trying his best to think of something that will keep his mind off his outburst. Sighing, the boy opened the volume to a random page, not really caring as to what the book was about, and began to read:_ Destiny – quite possible one of strongest words in both the muggle and wizard vocabulary. But does destiny really exist? Is one really fated to become a success or to become a failure? Is one really fated to fall in love with another person? One may never know…_

"What the hell?" said James, raising an eyebrow in wonder. "The validity of destinies being true may be rocky, but I definitely belive that I'm destined to become someone…what a pile of rubbish." Scoffing, James closed the book with a snap, grasping the spine of the volume without notice. "Isn't there anything better to read around here?" he said out loud, looking at the piles of magazines scattered on the coffee table in front of him. He suddenly slapped his forehead and rolled his eyes. "Oh damn! I left my book in the bloody library!"

Groaning in annoyance, James pushed himself off his seat, running a hand through his messy hair, his other hand unconsciously holding the book off the coffee table. He apologized to the Fat Lady for disturbing her for a second time in less than fifteen minutes, grinning as he overheard her mumble something about men being unreliable.  Half running and half waking, he set his course for the library, intent on retrieving his book and intent on forgetting about the ball.

~~*~~~*~~

Lily Evans yawned. An hour and fifteen minutes had passed since the ball started, and she was bored. Every single Ravenclaw student had decided to attend, leaving her alone in her dormitory, staring at the walls. Sighing, she got out of her bed and put on her school robes, debating as to whether or not she should go ahead and make her presence known at the ball – even for just a few minutes. 

"But it wouldn't be right – poor Euan is still lying there all alone," said the girl out loud. "Maybe I should go and visit him? Oh wait, Madame Pomfrey does not allow night visits…"

For a few seconds, the Ravenclaw prefect paced around the sixth year dormitory, trying to figure out what to do with her spare time. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she finally decided on going to the library and getting some advanced reading done. Grabbing a few of her books, some rolls of parchment and her quill and ink bottle, Lily descended onto the Ravenclaw common room, ignoring the emptiness of the large room. 

She walked slowly along the castle hallways, light footsteps bouncing off the walls, portraits greeting her with friendly smiles. _Wow, it's really quiet here_, she thought, confused as to why the air was not filled with music, as it should be when there's a ball. Shrugging off the thought, Lily proceeded with her trek to the library, groaning as she dropped her quill onto the floor.

"Oh come on Lily, be careful next time," she mumbled to herself as she stooped down to pick up the dropped quill, her robes touching the floor as a light cold air swept through her hair, prompting her to look up from her position. She shrugged when she saw the figure of a student, who seemed to be in a hurry, walk past her, a bit peeved that the boy did not even offer her any help. "I suppose gentlemen do not exist at this day and age," sighed the girl, continuing on with her journey to the library.

_Where's Madame Pince_? Thought Lily, looking around as she reached the library. "Guess she's not here," shrugged the girl, walking away from the entrance and turning to a row of shelves to her right. Glancing at the titles on the shelves as she walked past, Lily heaved a relieved sigh as she spotted a table with a few books. What with her desire not to walk around trying to find another table, Lily gently set her things onto the desk and pulled out a chair, slowly taking a seat facing the large windows.

Tucking a lock of red hair behind her ears, the Ravenclaw prefect dipped her quill onto the inkbottle and scribbled her name onto the parchment, the scratching of quill to paper the only sound heard in the large library. Lily gently opened her schoolbook, flipping through numerous pages before finally finding the topic she was looking for. As she began her reading, the roll of parchment she had been writing on flitted onto the ground. "That's great – I'm just dropping everything today," said the girl, reaching down to pick up the parchment. She suddenly gasped as a familiar scarlet book, covered by her dropped parchment, caught her eye. Lightly dropping her quill onto the inkbottle, Lily plucked the book off the floor, a fond smile creeping across her face as she opened to the title page: _Summoning Charms and More: The Complete List of Magical Charms to Ease Everyday Life_. "What is this doing here? I thought this book belonged to Agatha's brother now?" whispered Lily, smiling as she remembered the last minute note she had scribbled hastily on the title page, remembering the agonizing time it took for her to remove the daily prophet wrapping paper and rewrapping the book again after writing her little dedication. Lily sat in silence as she fondly looked at the book, memories of that day flooding into her mind. 

"Will you ever find me James?"

~~*~~~*~~

James walked the dimly lit halls of Hogwarts castle, slowly approaching the library, which was a few feet in front of him. He entered the book depository with a sheepish grin, expecting to see the strict librarian, only to find himself facing an empty front desk. "Where's the librarian?" he mumbled to himself, looking around, trying to see if Madame Pince was anywhere in the room. "Oh well, it's alright – I won't take long anyway." Tracing back the same steps he took on his first trip to the library, James ran a hand through his messy hair, sniffling as the smell of books permeated into his nose. 

James looked at the book on his hand as he slowly approached the table he sat in, smirking in amusement at his idiocy for actually bringing such a book filled with rubbish with him. Chuckling, he looked up, suddenly stopping, his mouth agape. A few feet from him was the table he had occupied earlier, only this time, a girl with shoulder-length auburn hair sat in his seat – her back towards the boy – his book gently clasped in her hands. James watched as her fingers traced the handwritten words on the book.

"Will you ever find me James?"

The boy felt his mouth drop open, the scarlet book slipping off his hand, dropping loudly to the floor. He watched, transfixed, as the redhead jumped from her seat, the sudden jerk rippling her hair, sending shivers through James' spine. With his mouth still agape, James curiously stared as the redhead slowly turned her gaze towards him, her hand gently grasping the back of her chair. 

James inhaled sharply as he saw the girl's features: beautiful red hair, intoxicating emerald eyes, alluring pale skin. _Oh my God,_ thought James, swallowing a lump on his throat as the girl slowly stood from her seat, her eyes filled with shock and joy. _I've found you, Lily Evans…_

~~*~~~*~~

Lily felt her grasp tighten around the back of her seat, a gasp escaping her lips as she took in the features of the boy standing a few feet away from her. Slowly, she made her way towards the boy, smiling as light glinted off familiar thin-framed specs, partially hiding attractive hazel eyes. "James?" whispered Lily, tilting her head to the side out of uncertainty as the boy continued to stare at her, unable to speak. Lily halted a few feet from the teen, her heart beating intensely. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?" commented the girl, slowly raising her hand to touch his, blushing as he lightly encased his hand with hers. The two stared at each other for few seconds, unable to say anything. Finally, Lily gently released his hand and spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"Fulfilling destiny," replied the boy, his voice a whisper. He glanced down at the book on the floor. 

Lily smiled at the boy. "And how, may I ask, are you going to do that?"

"You mean you've forgotten our little chat?" said James with a charming grin. "Serendipitous events lead to destiny."

Lily tilted her head to the side, confused. James, noticing this, proceeded to walk towards the girl slowly, stopping a foot away from the redhead. "I believe that's my book there on the floor that I _accidentally_ dropped there," said the boy, pointing at the scarlet volume.

Demurely, Lily stooped down to get the book, smiling at James, who had also stooped down to pick up the book, their eyes level. Resting a hand on her knee, Lily extended her arm to give the book back to the boy, a sweet smile on her face as he expressed his thanks. They remained staring at each other for a few more seconds, Lily's hand still resting on her knee, when she involuntarily jerked forward, her palm slipping off her knee as she knocked the boy down onto the floor, lightly toppling over him. 

"Now I know you didn't do that on purpose," said James with a smirk, staring at her intense, emerald eyes, his hands gently wrapped around her waist.  

"I know I didn't – it was an accident," replied the girl, drowning in his gaze, their faces inches apart. 

Without thinking, James brought his hand up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Lily's ear, gently running his hand through her cheek, slowly pulling her face closer to his. Closing his eyes, the strong Gryffindor captain melted into Lily's soft lips, kissing her gently, smiling inwardly as he felt her soft lips kiss back. 

James flashed a charming grin as he broke the kiss, helping Lily (albeit reluctantly) from her position on top of him, adjusting his robes as he himself got up from the floor. "I've been waiting a long time to do that," said the boy with a blush, leading her back to her seat and taking a seat across from the girl.

They remained in the library for the rest of the evening, neither one noticing how much time had passed by, each cherishing their reunion. Finally, James brushed a hand through his hair, glancing at his watch: 12:15 AM. "I think we should go now," said the boy. "I don't think Madame Pince even knows we're here."

Nodding, Lily gently shut her book close (she didn't even look at a single word on the page), gathering her things. The pair left the library, bidding goodbye to the surprised librarian, who, as James said, was not aware that there were students in the library. They walked side by side, her arm linked to his, their footsteps bouncing off the walls in harmony, the portraits on the wall smiling at them with approval. 

"James, you don't have to walk me to the Ravenclaw common room," said Lily, breaking the comfortable silence. "You don't even know where it is."

James chuckled. "Actually, I do…so, if you don't mind, I will escort you there."

Lily giggled, not bothering to protest as he led her to Ravenclaw tower, not once asking her if they were going the right direction. 

"Pity I can't come in, eh?"

"Yes, I don't think you're allowed to do that," replied Lily, a twinkle in her eyes. "Well then, good night James…" Smiling, Lily raised her hand to touch his cheek, bringing his face to hers, giving him a light kiss. Giggling like a schoolgirl, she turned to say the password to the common room, but suddenly turned around as she remembered something. "James?"

"Yes?"

"Did you fulfill your destiny tonight?"

"Of course I did. I _know _we're meant to be…" said James slowly, happiness twinkling in his eyes. "…Lily." 

And with that said, James gave her one last look for the night and turned around, intent on returning back to Gryffindor tower. 

~~*~~~*~~

 "James! Where the hell have you been, I've been worried sick!"

James entered the common room, his face an unreadable mask as he patted his friends' shoulders, giving them a huge grin. "I've been out fulfilling my destiny, Padfoot," said the boy, ascending the staircase towards the boy's dormitories, not saying another word.

Sirius and Remus watched their friend disappear from view, exchanging bewildered looks. "What's up with him?"

 "I don't know…the man just fulfilled his destiny, whatever that means," shrugged Sirius, clueless. "Oh well…I'm too damn tired from dancing, so I'll ask him tomorrow…erm…later about it – if I remember."

Remus chuckled as he and Sirius ascended the staircase, headed for their dormitories. "Hey, maybe he found his angel tonight – you know, Lily?"

Sirius, opening the door to their dormitory, smirked. "That actually makes sense – look at him, he's all goofy looking," said Sirius, nodding towards James, who was lying in bed with a silly grin on his face. "Guess love makes you act like that eh?"

"God, if love makes a person act like that, I wouldn't want to know how you'll act like when you fall in love," chuckled Remus, ducking at a pillow Sirius threw in his direction. 

~~**~~~**~~

So…how was that? I again would like to apologize for taking such a long time in posting this chapter up. Also, I apologize if this chapter was not as good as the last one – the ending wasn't really that great. I myself did not enjoy this chapter as much as I did the previous chapter. Alright, I'm saying chapter too much…hah! Anyway, please review this little section and let me know what you thought of it. I'm not sure if this is actually the end or if I should continue the story or what. I hope you guys caught the subtle hints of my dislike for Peter – I didn't really include him that much in any of my chapters. Well then, that's about it for now and I again would like to thank everyone who has supported this story from the start! You guys rock! Again, please review!

~~:AzaleaFaye:~~ 


	7. A Destiny Fulfilled

Disclaimer: You all know the drill – characters you recognize belong to the talented Ms. Rowling; those you don't recognize, well, I have no idea were they came from!

Author's Note: Before anything else, I would like to apologize for the extreme lateness of this last chapter. I've been extremely busy with summer school and I haven't had the time to actually cook this chapter up. That and the fact that I've been in a huge state of writer's block for the past couple of months…but have no fear – the seventh and final chapter of Serendipity is finally here! Originally, I had planned to leave the sixth chapter as the last chapter. But then I realized, "There are still a couple of questions left unanswered…I should write another chapter!" So here is the product of that little epiphany. Hopefully you all will like this chapter and hopefully you will feel some sort of closure to this story – the previous chapter wasn't a good place to end the story, I thought. So yeah, please read this and let me know how it was (i.e. please review this chapter!). And again, thank you for all the support! Enjoy!

Chapter Seven: A Destiny Fulfilled

Lily Evans sat in a round table for two at the Leaky Cauldron, her eyes scanning the many faces present in the pub as she took a small sip of her drink. With a sigh, she gently set the glass onto the table, taking a glance at her watch. "Where are you, James?" muttered the redhead, turning her attention towards the entrance, where a family of three had entered, faces all alit.  

With a somewhat defeated sigh, Lily turned her gaze at a bead of water trickling down the edge of her glass, absentmindedly tracing her fingers on a crack embedded on the table. _Goodness, it's getting hotter by the minute,_ thought the girl as she watched another bead of water slide down to the base of her glass. _I hope he gets here soon._

A small smile crept across Lily's lips, her eyes still fixed on her glass. Her mind, however, was on something other than the summer heat slowly making its way inside the Leaky Cauldron: James Potter. It had almost been a year since she met James at Flourish and Blotts, and almost seven months since their reunion at the library. And since that fateful night, she and James have been in a relationship (or as James himself put it, "that evening, destiny had been fulfilled."). 

It took all but three seconds for Sirius, Remus, and Peter to grin triumphantly when Lily and James entered the Great Hall hand in hand, the morning after their reunion. With a giggle, Lily recalled the wide-eyed looks her friends sent her way when the couple entered amidst whispers. It hadn't been her intention, really, to enter the Great Hall with James' hand clasped gently with hers. But as always, fate had a different plan…

Lily glanced at the oak door leading to the Ravenclaw girl's dormitory, a sigh escaping her lips. She had been waiting for no more than five minutes, having agreed to go down to breakfast with Arabella, Diana, and Agatha. But the strong growling of her stomach – and even stronger desire to see James that morning – drove the usually calm girl into impatience.

_Pushing herself off the comfortable armchair she had occupied, the redhead marched towards the oak door with a determined look, reaching for the doorknob. She yelped, however, when the door suddenly swung open to reveal two surprised girls. _

_"Good, you're here," said Lily as casually as she can, trying to hide her alarm. "I'm starving, so let's go."_

_"Actually, is it alright to wait for thirty more minutes, Lily?" asked Arabella, brushing her hair with her fingers as she moved to stand next to the redhead. "Diana didn't get much sleep last night – she had just woken up a few minutes ago…"_

_"What?"_

_"She and Sirius Black – I don't' know if you know him – were dancing enthusiastically last night," explained Agatha, closing the door behind her. A small, embarrassed blush crept across the first year's cheeks. "I overhead Sirius telling Diana to meet him at around 1 o'clock in the Astronomy Tower."_

_"I don't even want to know what those two did," muttered Lily, returning to the armchair she previously occupied, heaving a defeated sigh as she sat down. _I just hope there will be enough food left once we get down to breakfast,_ thought the prefect, tapping her foot as she waited for her friend. _And hopefully, James would still be there…

Thoughts of their shared kiss the previous night lingered in Lily's mind for a while, recalling the gentle and sweet way James had kissed her. She was snapped out of her reminiscent thoughts, however, when Arabella called her name. "Wh—what is it? Is Diana here already?" asked the girl, her cheeks flushed a light crimson. 

_"Goodness, Lily!" began Arabella, a bit shocked. "You're THAT hungry, are you?"_

_Lily flushed a deeper red._

_"Why don't you go ahead and save us seats?" offered Agatha with a smile. "Arabella and I will wait for Diana."_

_"Alright," said the girl, inwardly cheering as she went for the main door. "I'll wait for you three at the table!"_

_And with that said, the ecstatic Ravenclaw prefect snapped the door shut behind her, starting her trek to breakfast with a triumphant smile plastered on her face. As she rounded a corner, her smile still in place, a boy with sandy, blond hair approached her with an incredibly huge grin. "Lily," said the boy, halting a few feet in front of the bewildered redhead. "Euan has come to!"_

_"Are you serious?" exclaimed Lily, her already wide grin becoming wider. "Can I go see him then?"_

_Without bothering to hear the boy's reply, Lily ran off towards the infirmary, gaining curious stares from students, professors, and portraits. She had been extremely anxious since the accident, and had waited for the opportunity to finally hear her friend speak again. After all, she had a lot to tell him: the happenings during the ball (or atleast the gossip she had heard from her friends), the reason why the bludgers turned wild, the fateful evening when she saw James again…_

_She stopped on her tracks._

Should I tell him about James,_ wondered Lily, slowly resuming her journey to the infirmary. _He wouldn't be upset, right? I mean, we were supposed to have gone to the ball together, but that doesn't mean we're officially a couple…we're just friends…__

_"Good then," muttered Lily, settling the matter as she neared the infirmary. "Euan's a good friend – he would be happy to hear about James." With a confident nod, the Ravenclaw prefect entered the infirmary, surprised to see that Madame Pomfrey was nowhere in sight. She did, however, noticed the open door leading to the sick beds. Lily, eager to see her friend, walked towards to door; she suddenly stopped after hearing a very familiar voice._

_"Glad to see you up and about, Euan."_

_"So am I, Potter," answered Euan, his voice a little raspy.  _

_Lily poked her head through the open door, curiosity getting the best of her. She sighed in relief when she saw that, although she could clearly hear their voices, the two boys couldn't see the redhead (and neither can the redhead see the two boys). The white curtain around Euan's bed was drawn halfway out, blocking the redhead from view. With her curiosity still getting the best of her, Lily took a seat on a plush chair next to the door, silently eavesdropping on the boys' conversation._

_"So, did they ever find out who hexed those damn bludgers?" asked Euan, running a hand through his hair, which desperately needed a good combing._

_"Dumbledore placed some sort of charm on the bludgers," explained James, his brows crinkled in recollection. "A few minutes later, the professors found out that a group of Slytherin students hexed the damn thing."_

_"Why the hell would they want to do that?" asked Euan, his face a mixture of confusion and anger. _

_"Apparently, you and I are huge threats," said the Gryffindor captain with a shrug. "They wanted to secure the Quidditch Cup for their house."_

_"Some people just don't go by the rules, don't they?" sneered Euan. A few seconds of silence passed, broken only when the recently revitalized boy cleared his throat and asked, "So, what else happened? Has the ball already been held?"_

_"Yeah, last night, to be exact," replied James with nod of his head and, noticing Euan's disappointed expression, added, "But worry, I'm sure there will be another ball along the way."_

_"I suppose," sighed Euan, scratching the back of his head. "But I really wish I was awake for it. I didn't really want to disappoint my date; she probably ended up going alone…"_

_"I'm sure she would understand, given the circumstance and all," said James with a smile. "Who were you taking anyway?"_

_"Lily Evans," answered the Ravenclaw boy, unaware that the girl he had just mentioned was now fidgeting in her seat, anxious of the direction the boys' conversation had suddenly turned towards. _

_"Lily…Evans?" repeated James, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide open. _

_"What, you know her?"_

_"Is she your girlfriend?" questioned James, not heeding the other boy's polite demand. "I mean, you two aren't a…couple, are you?"_

_James held his breath, waiting for Euan's reply. A look of deep confusion then flitted across his face when, unexpectedly, Euan gave a good-natured scoff._

_"Why does everybody assume that? Just because two people are going to the ball together, it does not necessarily mean they are a couple," said Euan, unaware of the agreeing nod from the auburn-haired girl. "So no – Lily and I are not a couple. Although I do admit that when I asked her to the ball, it was my intention for us to become one. But I realized, after spending some time with her, that we are much better off as friends."_

_The Ravenclaw captain gave the other boy, who looked extremely relieved, a knowing grin. "Why, do you fancy Lily? You know, you two would make a spectacular couple…"_

_"Well, I sup—" began James. He was interrupted, however, by the loud shrieks of two women, and the loud clatter of a food tray falling onto the floor. With a bewildered look, the Gryffindor prefect pulled the white curtain open, smirking in amusement as he saw Lily Evans and Madame Pomfrey picking up the dropped items off the floor. _

_"Miss Evans, you startled me!" exclaimed the nurse, a not-so-pleased look etched across her face. "What are you doing here?"_

_"I am so sorry, Madam Pomfrey," apologized Lily, her cheeks pink. "I wanted to speak with Eu—" _

_"I'm sorry ladies, but do you need any help over there?" came Euan's amused voice. The two women looked up at the grinning faces of the two boys, Lily's cheeks turning a notch pinker. _

_"Euan…J—James," stuttered Lily, looking back and forth from one boy to the other._

_"Mister Potter! What are you doing, disturbing my patient?" interjected the strict nurse, her voice as sharp as a whip. _

_"I wasn't disturbing your only patient," said James with a grin. "I was merely speaking to him. After all, he needs all the distraction he can get to make him forget about his hungry stomach – his breakfast obviously cannot do that, seeing as all the food has been splattered on the floor."_

_"Very well, I shall fetch you a new tray, Mister Oldham," said Madame Pomfrey, smoothing out her clothes. "But when I get back, both you and Miss Evans had better not be here. Understand, Mister Potter?"_

_The three teens watched in silence as the nurse strolled out of the room, mumbling a complaint about teenagers. Once out of sight, Euan gave out a small chuckle. "Where you eavesdropping, Lily?"_

_"I was not!"_

_"How long have you been listening then, Miss Evans?" James lightly demanded, his eyes curled up in an amused smile but his eyes filled with fondness._

_"Long enough," replied Lily, her face beet-red. The two stared at each other for seconds, each oblivious to the other boy sending bewildered glances from his bed. He cleared his throat. _

_"So you two know each other then?" remarked Euan, face-faulting when the two continued staring at each other. "Do you know what I reckon? James here fancies you, Lily." _

_"Does he now?"_

_"Yes, he does," answered James, walking towards the redhead, who was beaming with delight, her cheeks now an attractive shade of light crimson. "I think the question should be: does Miss Evans fancy him?"_

_"I don't know," began Lily, a smile creeping across her lips. "Maybe she'll let Mister Potter know on the way to breakfast?"_

_"Shall we then?" said James, offering his arm to the girl, who gingerly looped an arm around his. _

_With a nod, the hazel-eyed boy led the auburn-haired girl towards the door, briefly acknowledging Euan as the pair went through the door, failing to hear the Ravenclaw captain's amused comment about having no distraction for his hunger._

_"So then, will Miss Evans finally enlighten this humble young man about her feelings towards Mister Potter?" questioned James as the two teens approached the Great Hall._

_The redhead did not answer._

_When the pair reached the Great Hall, James turned to face Lily, unaware of the curious looks a few students sent their way. "Well?"_

_Lily slowly reached for the messy-haired boy's hand, a smile still on her lips. With her other hand, she slowly pulled James' face towards hers, giving the bewildered boy a sweet and gently kiss. "I reckon Miss Evans does indeed fancy Mister Potter."_

_"I'm glad to hear that."_

_And with that said, James adjusted his robes and walked Lily towards the Ravenclaw table, giving the girl a chaste kiss on the lips, nodding at her gaping friends as he walked towards his own house table._

_Not minding the shocked expressions on her friends' faces, the Ravenclaw prefect took a sip of he pumpkin juice, stealing a quick glance at James, whose friends were grinning at him triumphantly, slapping him in the back._

_After a few more seconds of gaping, the three other Ravenclaws seated around the prefect resumed their breakfast, Lily smiling as she heard Agatha say, " I told you! You and my brother make a perfect couple, Lily!"_

~~**~~~**~~

"Umm…Earth to Lily," came a sweet voice, jerking Lily out of her reminiscent trance. "Are you alright?"

Wrenching her eyes from her glass, Lily smiled as the cheerful face of Agatha Potter came into focus. She stood up, smoothing out her skirt. "Agatha! How are you?"

"I'm fine," Agatha managed to say, since Lily had pulled the younger girl into a warm hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm meeting your brother here," explained the auburn-haired beauty, running her fingers through her hair. She looked around the pub. "Where's James?"

"Oh! He said he needed to stop by Flourish and Blotts for a few minutes," answered Agatha. She shrugged, adding, "He had to buy something important."

"That's all well then," said Lily, picking up her purse from the table. "I was going to ask him if we could stop by Flourish and Blotts later anyway. I might as well just meet him there. Would you like to come with me?"

"I think it would be best if I stayed here," said Agatha, tucking a lock of black hair behind her ear. "Just in case James arrives."

"What if he doesn't come?"

"I'll leave," shrugged the girl. "I have stuff to do too, you know."

"Alright, I'll se you later then," Lily said, waving goodbye as she exited the pub, the harsh rays of the sun kissing her skin. 

As always, Diagon Alley was filled with wizards and witches doing their summer shopping. Making her way through the throngs of people proved to be somewhat difficult – Lily was bumped on the shoulders atleast fifteen times before reaching her destination. Smiling at a man who held the door open for her, Lily entered the bookshop with a grateful smile, happy to finally be getting out of the heat and the crowd. 

Slowly, the redhead walked between rows and shelves of books, gasping lightly when a five-inch thick tome dropped with a thud, a few feet away from her. She looked up and stifled a laugh. "You missed me this time, sir!"

"I'm surprised I still work here," chuckled the man as he jumped down from his ladder, dusting his hands off the black apron tied around his waist. "I've injured so many people and not one complaint has been filed! Haha…well then, how may I be of service?"

"Could you please direct me to where I can find Belinda Bathwick's—"

"—latest book?" said the man, finishing the auburn-haired girl's sentence. He chuckled, motioning for Lily to follow him. "She's been extremely popular, that author. Now then, see that table over there? The one with the red sign? It should be there."

"Thank you so much," said Lily, smiling as the man went back to work. She reached the said table within seconds, congratulating herself as she gingerly grabbed the last copy off the table. She groaned. 

_NOT AGAIN!_ Thought Lily as an opposite force tugged the volume away from her. She looked up and smirked. "I'm sorry, but I saw this copy first."

"Did you now? I thought is saw it first," replied the boy, his hazel eyes glinting with amusement behind his glasses. "But I suppose you should buy it. So…I'll just place this book back onto the table here and wait for you to pick it up…"

Lily giggled, shaking in silent laughter. She reached for the indigo tome and gasped – an old man had grabbed the book before the redhead had the chance to enclose it with her hand. 

"Umm…excuse me, sir?"

The man turned around and grinned at Lily and the boy. "Well, I see you two are still together," commented the old man, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. "I suppose her mother enjoyed that book you gave her, eh?"

James smiled weakly, clearing his throat as he nodded.

"Well, what is it then?" asked the man, turning her gaze towards the redhead, whose cheeks were a light pink. 

"Er…I was about to pay for that, sir," replied Lily meekly, glancing at the boy beside her for help. 

The old man chuckled. "Now, now – that's not going to work this time around, young lady," remarked the old man. "You know, it took me six months to find a copy of the first volume. I'm not going to let this opportunity pass. Sorry, lass."

"But—"

"Besides," began the man, waving his hands at the two teens. "You two seem to be in love. I'm sure your mother will get on your boyfriend's good side just for that." And with that said, the man trudged off, the indigo book clasped tightly over his chest. 

"But—"

"Don't worry about it, Lily," said James, cutting the girl off as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, walking her out of the shop.

"You heard him," Lily half-wailed as she and James made their way through the crowded cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley. "It took him forever to get the first volume. Imagine how difficult it will be to get my hands on the second volume!"

"Not as difficult as you might think," said James, a triumphant grin on his lips as he lead Lily towards an empty bench shaded underneath a large, leafy tree. The pair sat down.

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering her question, James brandished a small bag from Flourish and Blotts that he had been holding the whole since he saw Lily inside the bookshop. Satisfied with the confused look on the girl's face, he added, "Go on, look what's in the bag."

"When did you…"

"I had to get something at Flourish and Blotts, remember? Or did Aggie not tell you?" wondered James, his brows scrunched in question. "I saw you walking towards the bookstore when I stopped by Florean Fortescue's. So, being the overprotective lad that I am, I followed you."

"And this is what you had to get?" asked Lily with a grateful smile, gently tapping the indigo book in her hands: _More Useful Charms for Everyday Use by Belinda Bathwick. _"What about that old man?"

"I didn't plan that," shrugged James. "He just happened to be there, I suppose."

The couple sat in silence, James watching his auburn-haired beauty with a smile and Lily tracing a finger along the book's spine. Running a hand through his messy hair, James broke the silence, asking, "Aren't you going to look through it?"

Sending James, who had an extremely expectant look on his face, a bewildered glance, Lily flipped the bard cover open. She gasped.

"I thought it was appropriate," said James, watching in satisfaction as the auburn-haired girl closed the book, speechless. "You wrote something on the book you gave me, so I thou—"

Before he had the chance to finish his sentence, Lily had brought his lips down onto hers, cupping his face with gentle hands, the indigo book sliding down onto Lily's lap, opening mysteriously to the title page. 

_Dear Lily,_

_You changed my life from the moment I laid eyes on you. I was mesmerized by the way your hair reflected the sun. I was amazed by the way your green eyes drowned me with your gentle looks. I was intoxicated by the way you smile. In short, I was intrigued by you. I felt lost during those months when I frantically wondered who you were. But now, we are together. I am thankful for whatever force that allowed us not only to meet, but also to reunite. No longer do I feel lost: a large part of my destiny has already been fulfilled. And that part, Lily, was you…_

_-James_

~~**~~~**~~

YES! I AM DONE! So…how was this for a last chapter? I thought it was a much better (and more appropriate) ending to this story. Don't you guys think so? But yeah…hopefully I answered a few lingering questions some of you have. And also, I hope none of you were confused between the shift from present to past. I did that before, and I wasn't sure if you guys understood that whole shift. Hopefully you did…well then, please let me know how this chapter was (i.e. please review). Thank you for taking the time and reading this little story of mine. I am glad to see that people appreciated reading this. You are all great! Thank you and have a wonderful day!

~~:AzaleaFaye:~~ 

  



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